Reboot Your Brain… with a Caffeine Nap

Scientists say that a successful midday nap depends on two things: timing and (no kidding) caffeine consumption. Experiments performed at Loughborough University in the UK showed that the sleep-deprived need only a cup of coffee and 15 minutes of shut-eye to feel amazingly refreshed.

1. Right before you crash, down a cup of java. The caffeine has to
travel through your gastro-intestinal tract, giving you time to nap
before it kicks in.

2. Close your eyes and relax. Even if you only doze, you’ll get
what’s known as effective microsleep, or momentary lapses of
wakefulness.

3. Limit your nap to 15 minutes. A half hour can lead to sleep
inertia, or the spinning down of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which
handles functions like judgment. This gray matter can take 30 minutes
to reboot.

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~ by jfree on October 5, 2007.