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.
