WAJAALENEWS ;Dubbed the ‘coffee nap’, researchers claim that drinking coffee then having a quick power nap heightens the impact of caffeine on the brain

When someone drinks coffee, caffeine is absorbed through the small intestine and passes into the bloodstream, according to a report by Joseph Stromberg in Vox.

When someone drinks coffee, caffeine is absorbed through the small intestine and passes into the bloodstream. Here, it crosses into the brain where it locks into receptors that are normally filled by a similarly-shaped molecule, called adenosine which is responsible for tiredness

HOW A ‘COFFEE NAP’ WORKS

When someone drinks coffee, caffeine is absorbed through the small intestine and passes into the bloodstream..

Here, it crosses into the brain where it locks into receptors that are normally filled by a similarly-shaped molecule, called adenosine.

Adenosine is what is responsible for natural tiredness. When it binds to receptors, it causes drowsiness by slowing down nerve cell activity.

But when caffeine locks to the receptors, it speeds up the nerve cells. The process from drinking a cup of coffee to feelings its affects takes around 20 minutes.

The thinking behind the coffee nap is that sleeping naturally clears adenosine from the brain. This means napping for 20 minutes will reduce your levels of adenosine just in time for the caffeine to work.

But when caffeine locks to the receptors, it speeds up the nerve cells. The process from drinking a cup of coffee to feeling less sleepy takes around 20 minutes.

The thinking behind the coffee nap is that sleeping naturally clears adenosine from the brain, according to Vox.

This means napping for 20 minutes will reduce your levels of adenosine just in time for the caffeine to work.

While scientists haven’t seen this work in real-time, they have conducted a number of studies in the UK and Japan to see its implications.

For instance, researchers at Loughborough University found that when tired participants took a 15-minute coffee nap, they went on to made fewer errors in a driving simulator, even if they had trouble falling asleep.

A separate study found coffee naps can help people go for long periods without proper sleep.

In one experiment, 24 young men went without proper sleep for a 24-hour period, taking only short naps.

The half who had coffee naps performed better in tests that the other half who were given a placebo before their naps.