Most doctors and sleep experts discourage drinking coffee before bedtime, but sleep researcher Brice Faraut says that drinking coffee before a 20 to 30-minute nap is actually a good thing! In his new book, “Saved by the Siesta,” he says that napping is not only a great idea for keeping yourself together but that drinking coffee before a nap the caffeine will help you be more alert for four to six hours after you wake up!
Need proof? A Japanese study of 10 adults revealed that adults with a 15-minute “caffeine nap” did better on computer tasks than those with a regular nap and a face wash or light exposure, but you have to remember not to take a nap too late in the day. It takes your body four to six hours to get rid of half of the caffeine effects, so a 5pm nap could interfere with going to sleep at 10pm.
Faraut’s advice? Go at least six hours between your nap and bedtime and limit your nap to 20 to 30 minutes. And get this – you can get a great benefit from a power nap of ten minutes. Faraut says it’s usually enough to offset the effects of one hour too little sleep at night and is the perfect prep for an afternoon meeting.
Source: New York Post
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