I’m a huge Bradley Cooper fan.
I’ve said it, I have a man crush on his deep blue eyes and wavy blonde hair. Besides, I’ve really enjoyed all his recent movies.
One of the movies I enjoyed watching was Limitless.
It’s basically Bradley Cooper taking a super drug that intensifies his focus and makes him really really smart. The drug basically transforms you to an ultimate genius machine.
It made him rich, famous and even got him laid.
*Getting laid? Talk about superdrug*
This drug, called NZT; is what every college student want but can never have.
However, in my quest to become Bradley Cooper( which I’m failing terribly) I went on a pilgrimage to find something as close to NZT as possible.
After countless years of searching, I managed to find something similar. I’ve discovered a drug that gives you focus like how NZT does, but failed to find the compound that would turn a dodo bird into an intelligent creature.
Humor aside, I’ve really found a method you can use to help create focus and concentration. And all you need is a combination of two items; sleep + coffee.
Sleep is awesome and so is coffee. Sleep + coffee? That’s awesomest!
Sleep is awesome and so is coffee. Sleep + coffee? That’s awesomest! <—– Click to tweet this!!
However combining them both makes it even better!
Here’s the explanation behind it:
When we take our brain into overdrive, something called adenosine accumulates. It’s the thing that makes us feel sleepy and just fall into dreamland, and when you sleep, your body naturally removes Adenosine from your body. Which is why we feel slightly refreshed after a good rest.
Coffee contains caffeine( I’m sorry but decaf won’t work) which competes with the Adenosine receptors. So basically the more caffeine you have, the less adenosine will be able to bind to the receptors.
This is why caffeine keeps you awake.
The thing is caffeine takes roughly 20-30 minutes to reach peak levels in your blood. And this is the perfect opportunity for a quick power nap.
If you don’t already know, I’m a huge fan of power naps. Using them have definitely improved my productivity levels by multiple folds. Now with the addition of a cup of coffee before my nap, I’m taking power naps to a brand new level.
*IF you’re interested in learning more about naps, I wrote a post which covers it HERE*
When you nap, you clear adenosine; when you take caffeine you further reduce the level of adenosine. That’s why combining them both is such effective method.
I’ve been using them lately and they have been fantastic. But if you don’t just want to take my word for it, here are some evidence that it works!
A study done by Reyner et al (1) at Loughborough University showed that after a 15 minute coffee nap, participants committed less errors on their driving simulator test compared to those who didn’t.
A Japanese study (2) also proved that a caffeine nap help participants improve on a memory test compared to those who just nap or took caffeine alone.
If you’re still not convinced? I can’t help you.
How to:
It’s simple, consume something that contains roughly 80-200mg(depending on how sensitive you are to caffeine) of caffeine 20-30 minutes prior to your scheduled nap. Set your alarm for 20-30 mins and make sure you wake up when your alarm rings.
*Here’s a reference for the amount of caffeine in many type of drinks*
Voila! You’ve done it, the perfect supercharged nap. And now you’re one step closer in transforming yourself to Bradley Cooper.
However, there are certain caveats when it comes to using this method.
The first would be consuming caffeine on a frequent basis reduces your sensitivity to caffeine. This means you need to consume higher doses to achieve the same effect your once had.
To fix this, I suggest you cycle your caffeine.
If you’ve been a coffee junkie, perhaps take a week or two off your regular cup of Joe. This method is NOT a replacement to a good night sleep, so seize every opportunity you have to get a good night rest.
The second problem some people would face is that they want to use this method at night. Caffeine takes approximately 6-8 hours for it’s effect to diminish so using this at night might interfere with sleeping patterns.
How I face this problem is by using a supplement called L- Theanine. L- Theanine is a supplement which provides a calming but non sedative feeling(3).Taking it with caffeine will help you feel alert without the need to go through a sleepless night.
So now that you’ve woke up and smelled the coffee(pun totally intended), try this out and see if this supercharges your focus and productivity!
Pardon me as I go grab my regular latte right now.
Any of you plan on trying this? If you need more help figuring how to use this method leave your questions in the comment section below. If you’re also a Bradley Cooper fan, do let me know
About Author
kedric
Kedric is currently pursuing his post graduate studies in applied sports and performance nutrition.
He is also a performance coach and all around geek who adores superheroes. Sometimes he thinks he is one himself.
If you love ice cream, you both might just be best buddies.
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