For almost every truck driver, a full night’s rest is a luxury. While in an ideal world, all truck drivers would be able to get eight hours a night, the nature of the industry makes this impossible. More often than not, truck drivers are forced to grab a little sleep wherever they can. That’s why drivers who are really pressed for time might benefit from a caffeine nap.
What Is a Caffeine Nap?
For tired truck drivers who don’t have time for a real rest, a caffeine nap (also called a coffee nap, or, by the more whimsical among us, a nappuccino) is a good choice for maximizing rest time. A caffeine nap simply means drinking a cup of coffee (or the equivalent caffeinated beverage) and then taking a 15-20 minute nap. It’s important that your nap doesn’t go over the 20 minute mark, or you might enter deeper sleep and you won’t get the full benefits.
What Are the Benefits of a Caffeine Nap?
Caffeine naps are shown to be better than either caffeine or naps alone. Why? Sleeping (even just a little bit) clears away the chemical in your brain that makes you tired — adenosine. Then caffeine swoops in and fills the adenosine receptors in your brain, meaning that you wake from even a short caffeine nap more refreshed than you would with just coffee or napping alone. Not only do caffeine naps reduce fatigue, but they also increase alertness and have been shown to reduce the number of errors on tests. Caffeine naps have even been shown to increase memory function.
A Necessary Sleep Hack for Truck Drivers
While a full night’s rest is always preferable to a caffeine nap, there are times when it just isn’t possible. Caffeine naps are a handy tool to have in your arsenal for those times when you are almost too tired to go on — but you have to anyway.
Sources:
Vox
Lifehacker