Nap right after caffeine pill

vitamincoverdose

I’ve been taking caffeine pill instead of drinking coffee, which helped me tremendously with my bladder,
But now I fall asleep right after taking the pill. Is this normal? Has anyone experienced this?
I feel very alert after the 30 min nap, but now I’m confused if it’s the pill that’s working or just nap...

Nunuboy1994

There’s a Harvard article that talks about how “caffeine naps” are beneficial. Basically, a caffeine nap is when you take a quick nap after consuming caffeine. From experience, I’ve taken a lot of mini caffeine naps during long night study sessions. Caffeine pills hit you less instantaneously than orally administered caffeine but definitely can be nice sometimes. It’s recommended to take L-theanine with caffeine as they have a synergy. L-theanine reduces caffeine induced anxiety and nervousness. DLPA is good to take when you’re taking a tolerance break from caffeine because it reduces the withdrawals.

Andrew Estrella

Anecdotally, if I am already tired then I tend to get sleepy after I drink caffeine.

npaganin

I also know several people who become tired after caffeine consumption. Would love to know why.

Cant Get Right

We actually aren't 100% positive how caffeine works, but best indications point to the blocking of adenosine as the most likely mechanism. Adenosine is basically a waste product of biological energy production. It builds up while we're awake, makes us sleepy, and then metabolizes during sleep. Adenosine levels have a big impact on how sleepy or alert we feel. Caffeine is similar enough in structure that it binds to the adenosine receptors in the brain, thus blocking adenosine from doing its thing.

That doesn't always seem to be what happens though. I've experienced what you're talking about, and it's not just that the caffeine fails to wake me up: It actually makes me drowsy--borderline intoxicated--in a very similar way to diphenhydramine or doxylamine which is what is in cough syrups. Whatever is happening, the brain seems to be interpreting it as a flood of adenosine. My "theory" (completely uneducated, uninformed guess) is that either caffeine is similar enough to adenosine that sometimes it doesn't just block the receptors but can actually trigger them, or else adenosine levels are built up so high that the caffeine just pisses them off and creates the neurochemical version of a riot.

Whatever the reason, the best way to deal with this is to get all that adenosine metabolized.

stephanie37

This started happening to me as well! I do feel a lot better if i do give into the 20 minute power nap but it was very confusing/frustrating at first and never found much about it online

Best.Yet.2.Come

Great post! I have had this happen to me on several instances and wondered why. @Nunuboy1994, thank you for the supplement reccomendations.