If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I never quite outgrew the afternoon nap phase we all went through as kids. Among my friends, napping was (and still is) considered to be my “thing." From my friends creating a photo album of me dozing in the library to getting me a pajama set for my birthday, it’s been a hard reputation to shake. As someone who consistently gets slammed with the strong yearn to catch some post-lunch Zzz’s, the caffeine nap strategy is one I find fascinating.
For those who are not as well versed in napping strategies, a caffeine nap – a.k.a. the nappuccino - is when you take a power nap immediately after consuming a caffeinated beverage. Of course, this method sounds incredibly counterintuitive, but there may be something to this napping method. In my lifetime, I have taken a handful of caffeine naps, and I must admit that I have felt more refreshed after doing so. But why? Is it just placebo, or is this an untapped gold mine for my fellow sleepyheads? To begin to understand this mystery, let’s look at the function of the organic compound, adenosine.
While to us, sleep may feel like a very simple state, brain on, brain off, it is in fact a complex process carried out by many systems within our bodies. So, while this article will mainly focus on the role of adenosine receptors in regulating sleep, just know that this is only one aspect of what goes on when we are in dreamland. The Adenosine Sleep Theory was conceived of by researcher Miodrag Radulovacki in 1985. This hypothesis was developed using evidence in cats and rats. Among these organisms, adenosine levels increased during wakefulness and decreased during sleep. These preliminary findings inspired sleep research in humans and continued animal research, which supported the hypothesis of adenosine playing a role in regulating sleep homeostasis.
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