Still Tired After Coffee? Try the Office Trend: the “Coffee Nap”
Every morning in office buildings you’ll see coworkers clutching a cup of coffee — like they can’t function without it. But things have flipped: some Silicon Valley folks are actually using coffee to help them nap . As life speeds up, more young people have joined the “I’m exhausted, coffee is my steel” club. Over time, many develop a kind of caffeine immunity : they can drink coffee in the afternoon or evening and still fall asleep at night. Now cue concerned relatives and a chorus of wellness accounts: “Just take a nap! Napping is better than coffee!” True — a short nap is a proven way to shake off sleepiness. But what if you combine coffee and a nap? Turns out, that combo can work even better. How Caffeine Keeps You Awake Caffeine wakes you up by blocking adenosine , a chemical in the body that promotes sleep. Adenosine binds to receptors in the brain and reduces neuron activity, which makes you feel drowsy. Because caffeine’s molecule looks similar to adenosine, it can bin...