substitute caffeine with a short nap

It has been reported that one of the biggest peaks in the production of sleep-inducing hormone melatonin happens from 1 to 3 pm and this is the reason why most of us sleepy in the afternoon. 

If you aren’t getting enough sleep at night, there’s a good chance that you’ll be naturally tempted to get some rest in the afternoon. When we come across this uncontrollable desire to sleep, most of us resort to a cup of coffee or tea to keep ourselves awake. However, a better alternative is to take a quick nap. 

A short afternoon nap, even for as little as 10 minutes, can give your body and brain the much-needed rest to recharge and power through your work for the rest of the afternoon.  

As much as we like it, caffeine is a powerful stimulant that increases adrenaline production and neutralizes the sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain. In healthy adults, the half life of caffeine is approximately 5 to 6 hours. So, anything you drink after noon will still be at around 50 percent strength when you go to bed. The more caffeine you have in your bloodstream, the harder it gets to fall and stay asleep. And even if you sleep, the quality of your sleep is significantly affected and you wake up the next day with a mental and emotional fog. This further prompts you to grab a cup of coffee or one of those fancy energy drinks, and soon you find yourself trapped in a vicious cycle.

That’s why, it’s much better to take a short nap in the afternoon; it’ll help you feel energized and you’ll have a higher quality of sleep at night than if you drink caffeine or take a long nap. 

And here’s a bonus tip. If you’re like me and still find it really difficult to part from your cup of coffee or tea after lunch, have a caffeine-free beverage instead. Your sleep won’t suffer and you’ll get used to it over time.

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