Every day it is a struggle to overtime the food coma that comes after lunch. Especially if the class at 1pm is community oral health, research principles, or embryology. Which class puts you sleep in dental hygiene school?
It’s not realistic to eat a meal, then magically get to class or the clinic. So I read on some tricks that can potentially help you, especially if you are taking the dental hygiene board exams. Then I tried the new strategy.
After some research, I learned about “coffee naps” — drinking coffee immediately before a 20-minute nap.
- Take a shot of espresso
- Set timer for 20 minutes on the phone
- Immediately lay down and close your eyes
Why it works: You see, when we’re tired, our body produces a chemical called adenosine, which binds to adenosine receptors in our brains. The longer we’re awake, the more adenosine accumulates, and the more tired we feel.
However, what makes espresso naps so powerful is the 20-minute timing.
According to this Harvard study, we sleep in 90 to 120-minute intervals, called ultradian rhythms. After 20 to 30 minutes, we fall into deep sleep. If we wake up in deep sleep, we’ll emerge feeling groggy and disoriented. Napping for 20 minutes will leave us most energized, in the shortest amount of time.
Similarly, caffeine takes 20 to 30 minutes to go through our system. Thus, by the time we drink espresso and finish our 20-minute nap, the caffeine would have gone through our system. Despite the awesome science and reasoning, you’re probably still thinking …
How in the hell will people at dental hygiene school react to me taking a nap? Great question. Haters are gonna hate. But try to explain to them the science of espresso naps. Feel free to throw in fancy words like adenosine receptors and ultradian rhythms.
At StudentRDH, we are always trying to find ways to help our test-takers be more productive and be successful at the dental hygiene board exams (NBDHE, NDHCE, CSCE, WREB, CRDTS). If you have any suggestions, feel free to share! Together we can help more test-takers!
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