If you don’t take a nap every now and then, I don’t think you’re really a student at Purdue University. 

People get energy from different things like coffee, exercise, or napping. I’m a caffeine addict who usually tries to stay away from napping. It leaves me groggy and only wanting to sleep more. But, while stumbling online in my attempts to learn what’s going on in the real world, I’ve learned that I’ve been napping the wrong way since my freshman year. I haven’t been taking coffee naps.

CNN reporter, Jarrett Bellini, describes a coffee nap as the ability to “combine the two -- coffee and 20 minutes of sleep – [in order to] maximize the benefits of both.” I can drink my venti caramel macchiato, sleep immediately after and gain more energy than just relying on one or the other? Count me in! Research on this topic, conducted at Loughborough University in England, showed that as long as you sleep for 20 minutes following your guzzling of caffeine, you’ll be as good as new.

Here's how coffee naps work. While you sleep, the caffeine will process in your body. By the time you wake up, the caffeine will be working in full gear, so you’ll have energy from your nap as well as from the caffeine. Researchers used 200mg of caffeine in their participants, which is just a bit less than what you would get in a tall coffee from Starbucks. So, it doesn’t take much caffeine to get the effects.      

The beauty of the coffee nap method is that you don’t need a lot of time, money, or effort to rejuvenate yourself. All you need is a cup of coffee, or some form of caffeine, a comfy spot to snuggle up, and an alarm to wake you up after 15 to 20 minutes. The biggest challenge to the coffee nap would be falling asleep straight after drinking your coffee, but some people are sleep champs who can pass out instantly. The researchers also suggest steering clear of sugary caffeinated drinks, such as soda, which can have counter-effects because of the sugar’s effect on the body.      

In college, we can be downright desperate for energy. Maybe the coffee nap is just what we all need. Go buy your coffee, take your quick nap, and feel like the Energizer bunny -- you deserve it.