The Showdown: Nap vs. Caffeine

I love the New York Times science and health sections. They regularly have neuroscience articles, and other less mainstream scientific topics — but all written for the layperson. I truly appreciate the breadth of what they write about.

Which leads to today’s post. Earlier this week they posted the results of a study comparing the power of a nap to the power of caffeine. Being both a sleep and caffeine junkie, I was naturally EXTREMELY interested in the results.

They sum up the results in the first sentence, which is that while a cup of coffee may make you feel great, a nap is actually your best friend! In testing verbal skills, motor skills, and perceptual skills, the “nap” group consistently outperformed the “caffeinated” group — even though the caffeinated group reported feeling more awake.

So, score one for corporate quiet rooms, and subtract one point for the always-on pot of coffee. Having said that, I’m about to go fire up my automatic espresso machine — which I still don’t intend to ever give up!

You can find the full article here.