Which is better: coffee or a nap?
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Your head hurts

Drink Coffee

Caffeine improves the absorption of pain relievers, so pair an espresso with an analgesic like aspirin to treat a headache.

You want to run faster

Drink Coffee

Caffeine boosts endurance and speed; estimates put performance gains at 1-3%. A 77kg man will need about a cup and a half of coffee one hour before a race.

You must do well in a test

Take a nap

An hour-long nap “can be as good as a whole night of sleep in terms of storing information,” says William Fishbein, a psychologist and neuroscientist at the City University of New York.

You’re grumpy and sleep-deprived

Drink coffee and take a nap

Both cof fee and naps can improve mood individually; combined, they ’re magical. Swill cof fee before a 30-minute nap, and wake up happy.

You require creative insight

Take a nap

Tales of discoveries made in dreams – or in flashes upon waking – are common, maybe because REM sleep is thought to facilitate connections between ideas.

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