Experts debate students’ preferences between taking naps or consuming energy drinks. Credit: Joelle Hammett.
While coffee and energy drinks may be the go-to solution for sleep-deprived college students, Ohio State experts said a short power nap may be the more effective option.
Sleep and nutrition experts at Ohio State said though both naps and caffeine can help students stay alert, they work differently. Caffeine can temporarily increase alertness, however, naps address the body’s biological need for sleep and provide additional benefits for memory, learning and cognitive performance.
“If there is time, my suggestion would be to take the nap,” said Ashley Ingiosi, an assistant professor in neuroscience who specializes in sleep studies and biological rhythms.
As people stay awake, a chemical called adenosine builds up in the brain and contributes to feelings of sleepiness, Ingiosi said. Power naps can help reduce those levels — improving alertness while also supporting learning and memory.
“Power naps can help with memory consolidation,” Ingiosi said. “It can help improve committing the things to memory that you just learned.”
The ideal power nap lasts between 10 to 20 minutes, Ingiosi said. Sleeping longer than 30 minutes at a time increases the likelihood of waking up during deeper stages of sleep, which can lead to sleep inertia — a period of grogginess that may leave a person feeling more tired than before the nap.
Ingiosi said naps can be especially beneficial before exams or study sessions, as they help students retain information they have already learned and improve the brain’s ability to compartmentalize new material afterward.
“Caffeine increases our alertness, but it doesn’t address that biological need for sleep,” Ingiosi said. “It mostly just masks it.”
Rather than reducing sleep pressure, caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, which reduces the feeling of tiredness,? even though the need for sleep remains, Ingiosi said. Caffeine can reduce the perception of sleepiness without fully restoring cognitive performance to well-rested levels.?
However, students can combine the two strategies through what researchers call a “nappuccino,” Ingiosi said.?
The approach involves drinking a caffeinated beverage immediately before taking a nap, lasting 10 to 20 minutes, so the caffeine begins taking effect shortly after waking up, Ingiosi said. The strategy allows students to combine the benefits of sleep with the alertness provided by caffeine.
Despite experts favoring naps when possible, many students continue to rely on caffeine.
Reagan Slinde, a graduate student in dietetics, said college students often choose coffee and energy drinks over a power nap due to time restraints, as they are balancing classes, assignments, extracurricular activities, jobs and social commitments.
“A lot of people tend to prefer to rely on caffeine just because they’re either in a time crunch with assignments, due dates, meeting up with friends [and] different types of activities,” Slinde said.? “They might not necessarily have the time to take a power nap.”?
Slinde said many students view caffeine as an alternative to rest rather than a supplement.
“Our culture, within my generation, sees caffeine as a gateway out of sleep or napping,” Slinde said.
Energy drinks have become increasingly popular among younger consumers, Slinde said, because they are convenient, heavily marketed and can contain as much as 200 milligrams of caffeine in a single can.
Liz Weinandy, an instructor of practice in dietetics and nutrition in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said students should understand that every caffeine source is different.
Weinandy said coffee and tea generally contain naturally occurring caffeine and beneficial plant compounds known as polyphenols, while energy drinks often contain additional stimulants, vitamins and other ingredients.
“I would encourage students to drink more coffee and tea rather than reach for the energy drinks,” Weinandy said.
Slinde said students should pay attention to the ingredients and marketing claims associated with energy drinks.
“It’s beneficial to know exactly what you are drinking,” Slinde said.
Weinandy also said coffee beverages are not automatically healthier alternatives if they contain large amounts of added sugar, syrup and creamer.
Weinandy and Slinde agreed with Ingiosi’s assessment that caffeine can increase alertness without replacing sleep, as students with demanding schedules may not always have the time or opportunity to take a nap before class, work or other responsibilities.
“If a student is tired before an exam, I would recommend a power nap,” Slinde said.
Weinandy said people metabolize caffeine differently. While some can consume caffeine later in the day with few noticeable effects, others may experience anxiety, jitters or difficulty falling asleep.
?Weinandy also said students should not automatically assume fatigue is caused by a lack of sleep.
“A lot of people will mistake dehydration also for tiredness,” Weinandy said.
Students should monitor how much caffeine they consume throughout the day, she said, especially when combining multiple sources such as coffee, energy drinks and soft drinks.
For students looking for a quick energy boost, the experts said the best option ultimately depends on the situation. While caffeine can temporarily increase alertness, experts say naps provide benefits that energy drinks and coffee are unable to replace.
Still, experts emphasized that neither power naps nor caffeine should replace consistent nighttime sleep. While both can provide a temporary boost, they said adequate sleep remains the most effective way to support learning, memory and overall performance.
