Achieving the Perfect Nap

Dr. Sara Mednick, author of Take A Nap! Change Your Life , offers the following:

- Taking a nap does not mean you are lazy. A nap can make you more productive and more alert after you wake up.

- Try to nap in the morning or just after lunch. Human circadian rhythms (out natural sleep cycle) make late afternoons a more likely time to fall into deep (slow-wave) sleep, which will leave you groggy.

- Avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine as well as foods that are heavy in fat and sugar. Instead, in the hour or two before your nap time, eat foods high in calcium and protein, which promote sleep.

- Find a clean, quiet place where others' voices and cell phones won't disturb you.

- Try to darken your nap zone or wear an eye mask. Darkness stimulates melatonin, a sleep- inducing hormone.

- Body temperature drops when you fall asleep, so raise the room temperature or use a blanket.

The Values of a Your Nap

10-20 seconds: Sleep studies haven't yet concluded whether there are benefits to these brief intervals, like when you nod off on someone's shoulder on the train.

2-5 minutes: These have proven to be surprisingly effective at shedding sleepiness.

5-20 minutes: These mini-naps increase alertness, stamina, motor learning, and motor performance.

20 minutes: The original "Power Nap" is 20 minutes and includes the benefits of shorter naps but also additionally improve muscle memory and clear the brain of useless built-up information, which helps with long-term memory.

50-90 minutes: Now we're talking! Naps of this length includes slow-wave plus REM sleep and are good for improving perceptual processing and repairing bones and muscles when the system is flooded with human growth hormone.