Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

vox.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 163 posts

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#21

Post by DaniFong »

virtuabhi wrote: post #6

I have read this before. I do not understand how you can sleep for 20 minutes. It takes more than 15 minutes just to fall asleep.

Read this carefully: I used to think this way as well. This thinking lead me to the exact wrong strategy for naps.

There are many stages of sleep; stage 1 through 4, and REM sleep. These, it is hypothesized, have distinct physiological functions. Most importantly for this discussion, waking up out of each have very different effects.

Waking from stage 1 sleep makes you feel immediately refreshed, and people perform better immediately have tests of mental acuity. This is also true of REM sleep; additionally you often remember dreams.

Stage 2 is also good. A good 30 minutes afterwards, you will feel better rested, and your mental acuity will rise; for longer than from stage 1, but it is a delayed effect.

But if you wake up out of a deeper sleep cycle, you get 'sleep inertia.' Mental acuity plummets. You feel poorly rested and ill.

The problem:

The body is often not even aware that you are sleeping in stage 1 sleep. You are in a different physiological stage, but you may not have lost consciousness.

You usually are in this stage from minute 5 onto minute 10. And in stage two up to about 15-20 minutes. After that, you can fall into a deeper sleep; which waking up from is very problematic.

I used to set my alarm for 30 minutes. I'd way up, feel even more tired, and set my alarm for 30 minutes again. This was ruining my life.

---

tl;dr

Even if you don't lose consciousness, you can still be 'sleeping' and a nap of 20 minutes will greatly help you feel healthy and well rested.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#22

Post by jdnier »

I have noticed this occasionally on weekends, when the luxury of a nap is more practical. I'll have a small late-morning coffee, feel cozy/sleepy, then nap briefly and wake up refreshed. Seemed crazy at the time. I'd guess you need to feel somewhat tired for this to work (and I am able to fall asleep quickly).

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#23

Post by giardini »

For those who have trouble falling asleep quickly I recommend good earplugs, a quiet place where you can nap undisturbed and a dark opaque towel or cloth with which you can cover your eyes and block light completely. Given that, there's little to prevent sleep once you've settled in.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#24

Post by crb3 »

jisaacks wrote: post #7
300 wrote: post #3

I found this by experience few years ago. It works. At first, I started with naps, and drinking coffee after. Accidentally I had few times coffee before nap, and noticed the difference. But I don't recommend this kind of nap all the time - because after a while it's not that effective. So, after years of napping (I'm an expert - I became so good at napping, that I can fall a sleep in 1-2 minutes, and wake up without…

> I can fall a sleep in 1-2 minutes, and wake up without alarm after 15-20 minutes Any advice on how you were able to achieve this ability? I always try to take a quick nap but can never fall asleep fas t enough for it to be effective.

Two techniques from my experience:

- 'walk back' in your mind to center yourself away from forebrain activity and visual activity (this is a visualization technique)

- cover your back with something insulated and/or warm. The less your back is staying tensed against chill air, the more physically relaxed you can be. I have a Thinsulate-filled sleeping bag that I use like a throw for this as it reflects body heat better than a comforter. Sleeping on a sofa, up against the back cushions, and noticing how it was good for naps, was what alerted me to this one.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#26

Post by mwfunk »

virtuabhi wrote: post #6

I have read this before. I do not understand how you can sleep for 20 minutes. It takes more than 15 minutes just to fall asleep.

If it's that hard to fall asleep, then you don't need a nap. Problem solved. Depending on their job, diet, exercise, age, etc., some people just really really really really need a 10-15 minute nap in the early afternoon to get through the rest of the day. The need comes over you quickly, and you either do it or spend the rest of the day struggling to stay awake and focused on your work. I don't think anyone is suggesting that people who aren't actually tired take naps.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#27

Post by tempestn »

Is there any downside to doing this? It seems like there must be a reason why the adenosine signals that it's time to sleep - like your brain actually needs that rest to recuperate properly after activity. Does a "coffee nap" (or caffeine in general) lead to increased fatigue once the effects wear off?

Although I guess to some extent if you're going to ignore the sleep signal otherwise, there likely isn't much harm in feeling alert while doing so, except inasmuch as the alert feeling causes you to tax your brain more than you otherwise would.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#29

Post by crb3 »

staunch wrote: post #5

> ...it takes around 20 minutes for the caffeine to get through your gastrointestinal tract and bloodstream anyway. This isn't really true, right? On an empty stomach a strong coffee seems to get me high as a kite in about two minutes. I've been doing this coffee+nap thing for a long time. It definitely works for me. My trick for falling asleep reliably and quickly is listening to an audiobook.

How do you drink your coffee? If you sugar it, you're not dealing with just the caffeine.

Re: Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone

#30

Post by Retric »

tempestn wrote: post #27

Is there any downside to doing this? It seems like there must be a reason why the adenosine signals that it's time to sleep - like your brain actually needs that rest to recuperate properly after activity. Does a "coffee nap" (or caffeine in general) lead to increased fatigue once the effects wear off? Although I guess to some extent if you're going to ignore the sleep signal otherwise, there likely isn't much harm i…

Natural sleep cycles vary not just by person but also by age. There is some evidence that a small community with 0 to 70 year olds will always have someone awake. Which would seem like a likely survival adaptation. Which suggests sleep cycles may relate to more than just biological need.
Post reply on HN