To Nap or to Coffee?

Today I did something for the first time ever.

I had a rough night of sleep last night. I fell asleep around 11:30, woke up to Biddy (cat) drooling for food at 4:00, and ended up unable to fall back to sleep for the next hour or so. My day then started at 7:00.

Fortunately I didn’t have a headache, but I was pretty tired in the afternoon, and a nap was a tempting prospect despite the amount of work I had today. I could start to feel my brain becoming more and more sluggish.

Then I remembered that due to an upcoming game day I’m hosting, I have iced coffee in my fridge. I’m not a coffee drinker at all, and while I’ve had it a few times (my favorite being Thai iced coffee), I can’t remember ever drinking coffee strictly for the caffeine.

That all changed today. No nap for me–I had a small glass of coffee instead:

I’m ALIVE!!!

It certainly did the trick, and I was mostly productive for the rest of the day.

Are you a coffee drinker? Have you ever used it to wake up your brain?

9 thoughts on “To Nap or to Coffee?”

  1. I’m quite certain that I am addicted to coffee. There’s also a very big coffee culture here in Australia. I have an espresso machine at home, and I work from home, so I generally have two double shot coffees per day.

    I also don’t sleep all that much (typically 6 hours or less). I wonder if the two are related…

    Each year I fast for 19 days as part of my faith/religion, and I quit drinking coffee around a week before I start fasting. Those days are generally my least productive in the year… 😅

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  2. I am a huge coffee drinker but that is not necessarily a good thing for waking up- I find that as much as I enjoy my dark roasted morning ritual it provides comfort but little to wake me up as my body has become far to familiar with caffeine to care that more is in my system.

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  3. be careful little buddy. you are about to go down a dark mocha path. your picture, while humorous, also shows how much you like this. remember most addicts will chase that first high for the rest of their lives. naps are so much better for you!!! 🙂 (But seriously, If you want the science on caffeine and sleep see the book Why We Sleep for a really good sound analysis)

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  4. I’m caffeine free, other than eating chocolate sporadically. But I also don’t take naps unless I’m sick. If I’m feeling awfully tired after a not so restful sleep I’ll try to go for a walk. Exercise and sunshine are supposed to help your endorphins. (which usually does help, and is also good for getting over jet lag.) I’ll be more interested to see how you feel today! If I have an awful nights sleep it doesn’t hit me that same day, but the next day!

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    • No, I don’t drink coffee; I think I have the bitter-sensitivity gene. So I never knew that pre-made coffee came in a bottle like that. Just the thing for next time I have coffee-drinking guests. Thanks for the caffeinated clue-in!

      A swallow of Mountain Dew sends me over the top.

      Reply
  5. Jamey,

    Believe it or not, neither of those options is the best. THe best thing you can do, especially as you enjoy soccer, is get outside and go for a run. It will stimulate you naturally and curb a bit of appetite to boot.

    Cheers,
    Joe

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