For any coffee lover, there's nothing better than a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee! Be it to kick-start the morning or to refuel energy on a busy work-day - coffee is the ultimate solution to refresh ourselves at any time of the day. A new study has shown that a cup of coffee, along with a quick nap can help you stay alert on a night shift. For the unversed, this process of drinking coffee before a nap is referred to as 'caffeine-nap'.
A research conducted by a team of experts from the University of South Australia finds that caffeine nap not only keeps you alert, but also helps improve attention and performance levels.
"The finding could help counteract the kind of sleep inertia that is experienced by many shift workers," said the lead researcher of the study, Dr. Stephanie Centofanti from UniSA Online and the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at UniSA.
Dr Centofanti further stated, "Caffeine-nap (or 'caff-nap') is a "win-win" as shift workers can gain the benefits of a 20-30-minute nap and the perk of the caffeine when they wake. It's a win-win."
However, too much coffee may harm our overall sleep and health, the researchers added, as per a report in ANI.
Speaking in this regard, Nutritionist and Macrobiotic Health Coach, Shilpa Arora ND explained that caffeine can work both as a stimulant and relaxant and have different effects on different individuals. "While coffee for someone with high blood pressure can be detrimental, it has an opposite effect on the ones with low blood pressure," she said.
"But for individuals working on night shifts, the combination of coffee and nap makes total sense as both of these help a person boost energy and reboot body and mind," she added.
Taking all these points under consideration, we say that caffeine-nap can be of much help to the night-shift workers, only if the coffee is taken in moderation.