Sleeping during lunch break: 20 minutes power nap - before that a coffee

Created: 06/09/2022Updated: 06/09/2022 09:07

By: Judith Brown

Caffeine before sleep?

An expert recommends taking a power nap during the lunch break and drinking coffee beforehand.

After that you should be more alert and in a better mood.

Tokyo – While a so-called power nap – also known as a nap – is often frowned upon in this country during the lunch break, the Japanese are now showing us how to do it.

At a café in Tokyo's Harajuku district, tired people can curl up on a lounger or sofa and take a nap.

The special thing about it: Shortly beforehand, the guests drink a coffee.

Sleep researcher Mitsuo Hayashi from the University of Hiroshima explains what effect it has.

Sleeping during the lunch break: 20 minutes of power napping – a coffee beforehand

Sleeping on lunch break?

More and more Japanese practice this ritual.

One expert recommends drinking coffee before your power nap.

(Iconic image) © moodboard/IMAGO

Coffee is usually considered a pick-me-up.

In combination with lemon juice, coffee can sometimes boost fat burning.

Drinking it before going to sleep probably comes to the mind of very few people.

However, if you take a power nap during your lunch break, Hayashi even recommends this sequence in addition to a short nap.

"The caffeine reaches its highest level in the blood after 20 to 30 minutes," explains the scientist, according to "WirtschaftsWoche Online".

According to this, the coffee can drive away insomnia due to this delay after waking up.

According to Hayashi, a short midday nap serves both mental and physical recovery.

His colleague, the German sleep researcher Jürgen Zulley, knows that too.

"People are physically and mentally less efficient at midday, their body temperature is lower and they fall asleep quickly," he explains, according to "WirtschaftsWoche Online".

Sleeping during the day not only bridges the tired time.

Then you will be even more efficient.

According to the sleep expert, people react faster, work more concentrated and attentive "and those concerned are in a better mood than colleagues without a nap".

It is therefore not only recommended for people who cannot sleep well at night due to insomnia.

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Sleep: Midday naps should not exceed 20 minutes

However, according to Hayashi's recommendation, the nap during the lunch break should not be longer than 20 minutes.

"In the first five to six minutes you switch from being awake to sleeping, then seven to eight minutes of light sleep follow, and you need another three minutes to return," says the researcher.

This is the only way to avoid falling into a deep sleep with dreams and high brain activity.

Although science has also found that sleeping without pajamas is healthier, experts probably wouldn't recommend it to guests at the Japanese sleep cafe.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication.

In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor.

Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.