It’s the time of year when many of us are driving distances for the holidays, prepping for semster-end exams or trying to fit too much work and shopping into the crammed month of December.

What to do when you need a little boost? The New York Times has two stories on caffeine versus the nap.

In this story, a small study suggests that for improved physical and mental performance, say in taking an exam, an afternoon nap works better than caffeine.

But in this story about driving, a jolt of java is found to be better than a nap.