In short – a coffee nap is when you drink coffee right before taking a 15-30 minute nap. That’s about the time it takes the coffee to metabolize, which means you get a double effect of the rest + caffeine. Both reduce adenosine, a molecule in our bodies that makes us sleepy.
After publishing the coffee nap post, my friend Peter asked whether there were substitutes to caffeine with similar effect. Online wisdom suggested zinc supplements. I promptly bought the supplements! Then promptly left the box untouched in cupboard.
Weeks passed.
Then, as I’m working on my own sleep issues, I’ve been trying to go to bed earlier. This means I can’t drink coffee in the early afternoon as I used to. So in my crashes, I had to resort to the supplement. I took a 22mg zinc pill, napped, and what do you know? It works!
I’ve been doing this for a few days now, on and off, depending on how tired I feel. I wake up refreshed and happy, without the jitteriness I get from caffeine. I love it!
Please note that 22mg is more than the recommended daily dosage for both men and women. You can read more about zinc here. Clearly, I’m no doctor nor do I play one on the internet, so if you have any concerns about supplements, please consult a professional.
Happy napping, and here’s to feeling refreshed throughout long days! Do let me know if you’ve tried zinc for afternoon slumps, and what effect it had, ok?
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
I’m ready to try the zinc supplements. Didn’t know about the coffee naps but will definitely try them out since I’ve now reintroduced coffee into my life. Thanks for these helpful tips.
So happy you found it useful!
Wow, what an interesting concept. Never heard of a “coffee nap” but I’m definitely going to have to give it a try!
Interesting !
I (luckily) have no issues with coffee in relation to sleeping – and have heard of the effect of taking a coffee just before a short nap.
There’s a difference I notices.
Eager to give Zinc a shot 🙂 See if it helps even better
Let me know how you feel, Ton, I’m super curious!
Love this tip @Shlomit! Definitely going to give it a shot. Thing is, it takes me a good 20-30 minutes to just fall asleep in the day, so not sure how it will work, but I’m always up to a good experiment!
From my own experience, and the “formal” coffee nap research that I found online, just resting for 20-30 minutes should give you a perk as well. Sometimes the attempt to fall asleep can create stress in and of itself, so just lie down with a book.
Tell me how it goes!