Which is better: Coffee or a nap?
Your head hurts
Drink Coffee
Caffeine improves the absorption of pain relievers, so pair an espresso with an analgesic like aspirin to treat a headache.
You want to run faster
Drink Coffee
Caffeine boosts endurance and speed; estimates put performance gains at 1-3%. A 77kg man will need about a cup and a half of coffee one hour before a race.
You must do well in a test
Take a nap
An hour-long nap “can be as good as a whole night of sleep in terms of storing information,” says William Fishbein, a psychologist and neuroscientist at the City University of New York.
You’re grumpy and sleep-deprived
Drink coffee and take a nap
Both cof fee and naps can improve mood individually; combined, they ’re magical. Swill cof fee before a 30-minute nap, and wake up happy.
You require creative insight
Take a nap
Tales of discoveries made in dreams – or in flashes upon waking – are common, maybe because REM sleep is thought to facilitate connections between ideas.
Written by Vanessa Gregory. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.