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09th Dec 2018

Meet the coffee nap – a concept so fantastic we may need a lie down

Niamh Maher

Coffee and sleeping… pretty much two of our all-time favourite things.

Unfortunately, however, the duo are star-crossed lovers destined to lead separate lives… or so we thought.

Enter the Coffee Nap, something that is loved and used by athletes the world over.

The concept is simple: you drink a cup of coffee then take a 15/20 minute nap BEFORE the caffeine kicks in. Then you technically get a surge of new energy to hit the gym, finish the laundry or do whatever you need to get done.

For years, scientists have been advocating the use of caffeine to combat driver fatigue, and it seems athletes are now doing the same to kick-start their afternoon work-outs.

Irish Olympian Arthur Lanigan O’Keeffe recently raved about the pre-workout coffee nap.

So after a particularly strenuous work day with zero energy and no real desire to do very much, we decided to try it out.

So did it work? Well, in a word, YES! In fact, we can definitely see coffee naps being a staple part of our routines and maybe a concept that could add new meaning to sleep when the baby sleeps.

Although we wouldn’t recommend doing it anytime after 7 pm (caffeine is caffeine after all!) as you mightn’t then sleep that night.

And if all else fails and the gym remains unvisited, or those clothes remain unfolded – at least you’ve had a coffee AND a nap… so life is good.