Originally Posted by Tech Maven
Sleep researchers at the Loughborough University in Britain did several tests on fatigued drivers to compare the effects of different methods for a driver can use to stay awake. They put the volunteers in driving simulators while they were sleepy and let them drive. Some of the tests included rolling down windows for cold exposure, blasting the radio and slapping oneself in the face to try to stay awake. But what researchers found worked the best was a Caffeine Nap.
The Caffeine Nap is simple. You drink a cup of coffee and immediately take a 15 minute nap. Researchers found coffee helps clear your system of adenosine, a chemical which makes you sleepy. So in testing, the combination of a cup of coffee with an immediate nap chaser provided the most alertness for the longest period of time. The recommendation was to nap only 15 minutes, no more or less and you must sleep immediately after the coffee.
http://goalsuccess.typepad.com/goalt..._take_a_c.html
Considering this is something cheap and accessible to virtually anyone it's probably a good tip to keep in your toolbag for long trips.
My dad told me that when he was in Vietnam they had a similar thing. Before going out into the jungle, the Corpman gives them Benzidrine and they take a nap for 30 minutes. Then they are up for days. On the downside, when they got back, they could end up sleeping for days.