While a cup of joe or a brief nap during an all-nighter might help you feel a little more alert, it won’t offset cognitive impairments from sleep deprivation when you’re performing complex tasks.
We compared the ability of volunteers to solve a problem after a cat nap compared to those who stayed awake. It’s a technique we borrowed from Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali.
Calvin Coolidge, during one stretch of his presidency, was getting 15 hours of shut-eye each day, while William Howard Taft was known for nodding off during public events.
The benefits of naps are similar to those experienced after consuming caffeine, but without the side effects of caffeine dependence and possibly disrupted sleep at night time.
Taking a power nap on a night shift can leave you feeling groggy. And eating a large meal can reduce your alertness. So, what’s a tired shift worker to do to make it through the night?
Companies such as Google, Nike and Ben & Jerry’s encourage or allow napping at work, providing employees with napping facilities such as napping pods and quiet rooms where they can nap if desired.