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午睡不是幼儿园孩子的专利，一项整体研究显示，午睡可以使人在工作岗位中提高生产效率和保持头脑清醒。午后的昏昏沉沉多发生在下午2-5点的时候，午睡是对付这种昏昏然的灵丹妙药。《每周新闻》采访了《午睡还是沉迷！十种“非强迫”手段改善青少年睡眠习惯》一书的作者Helene Emsellem，探讨最佳午睡的方法、时间和寝处。

1．不可思议的组合：咖啡和午睡的关系是，一杯咖啡不仅不会搅翻你的午睡，反而颇有助益。2003年日本的研究发现，短暂午睡与咖啡的组合能够改善睡眠。听起来不可思议，但这是如何有效的呢？饮用咖啡后大约要20分钟到半个小时方会发挥提神的效果，在这段时间里进行午睡可谓是恰逢其时。如此，如果你有一个咖啡后的午睡，其收益是事倍功半，即得到了休息又可使你醒后精神抖擞。英国的交通部为避免司机的疲劳甚至倡导：“停车，喝两杯咖啡或一杯富含咖啡因的饮料，闭目小睡。”浓郁咖啡后的午睡象是一顿免费的午餐。

2． 最佳午睡时间：Emsellem 认为，下午2点或3点是最理想的午睡时间——即没晚过自然的午睡时间范畴，也不早得影响夜间的睡眠。在你打算午睡前，也要考虑一下下午的工作议程，Emsellem 推荐，如果可能的话，大会之前进行午睡。会议之前的午睡可以避免会中瞌睡入眠的尴尬。

3．午睡的时间至关重要：良好午睡的时间长度最好是20-30分钟之间。这样即可以恢复精神又不产生那种睡意未尽、迷迷糊糊的状态，Emsellem将其称之为“睡醉现象”。

4．午睡的地点：选择午睡地点可能是件令人头痛的事。如果你的公司有保健或哺乳室，那当是午睡的好去处。倘若无从选择，你可能不得不将你的办公间临时改建成寝室，这就意味着你可能要委屈一下自己，在写字台下卷曲入眠了。到你停车场的汽车里去睡可能是另一选择，当然你要保证车子的窗户敞开，马达熄火。

5．闹钟定时：如果你疲劳不堪去午睡，大概你不会神奇地自动醒来。因此要设定闹钟，这即可避免过长午睡所导致的昏昏沉沉，又不至于午睡过头误了大事。

6． 安排好作息时间：Emsellem 建议，将20分钟午睡变成你一种特殊的睡眠规律，使之成为你机体需求的生理节奏的一部分。最容易的方法就是使用睡眠日记记录你的午睡习惯。

7．做一个清醒的午睡者：如果你总是感觉犯困，那就要检讨一下你夜间睡眠的时间安排了。你是否只睡了5-6个小时？20分钟的午睡可以提神，但对夜间的睡眠时间不足则于事无补。反之，如果你每晚都睡8个小时，仍然磕睡犯困，这没准就是睡眠障碍或其它健康问题的先兆。因此，寻求医生检查或查询国立睡眠基金会或美国睡眠医学学会的网站以获取更多的睡眠资料。

Seven Secrets to a Great Nap

Naptime is not just for kindergarteners. A whole body of research shows that a midday snooze can increase productivity and alertness in the workplace. Naps can often be the perfect weapons to combat midafternoon sluggishness, which tends to hit between 2 and 5 p.m. NEWSWEEK spoke to Helene Emsellem, author of "Snooze...or Lose! Ten 'No War' Ways to Improve Your Teen's Sleep Habits" about how, when and where to do the best napping:

1. The Odd Couple: Coffee and a Nap Turns out that a cup of joe won't ruin your nap, it will enhance it. A 2003 Japanese study found that you can alleviate sleepiness by combining a short snooze with coffee. Sound counterintuitive? Here's how it works: caffeine takes about 20 minutes to a half-hour to kick in, just enough time for you to nap. That way, if you've had a coffee-primed nap, the benefits are twofold: you've rested and you're ready to go when you wake. The British Transportation Department even provides drivers with the following recommendation to combat driver fatigue: "Stop, drink two cups of coffee or a highly caffeinated drink, then take a short nap." Think of a nap as a free extra shot in your latte.

2. The Nicest Nap: Hour Emsellem says that 2 or 3 p.m. is the ideal nap hour—late enough to fit into your natural siesta zone but early enough that it will not interfere with your night sleep. Also take your afternoon schedule into consideration when making nap plans. If you can, Emsellem recommends taking your midafternoon snooze just prior to a big meeting. Dozing right before the meeting will make sure you're not drifting off during the meeting.

3. Length Does Matter: A good nap length is somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes. This will give you the restorative benefits of sleep without the lethargy or grogginess—what Emsellem calls "sleep drunkenness."

4. Making the Bed: Location may be the toughest nap quandary. If your company has a health or nurse's room, that could make a good place for snoozing. If that's not an option, you may have to turn your cubicle into a makeshift nap room—but that means you'll probably have to be all right with curling up under your desk. Heading to your parked car is another option—but of course you should make sure a window is open and the engine is not running.

5. Set an Alarm: Chances are, if you're tired enough to take a nap, you will not magically wake up on your own accord. So set an alarm, both to avoid the grogginess of a long nap and to make sure you don't sleep through anything important.

6. Keep It Consistent: Emsellem suggests working that 20-minute nap into a particular sleep routine to make it part of your body's expected circadian rhythm. The easiest way to do that is by using a sleep log to record your snoozing habits.

7. Be an Alert Napper: If you always feel the need for a nap, think about your nightly sleep schedule. Are you down to only five or six hours? While a 20-minute nap is a good refresher, it will not make up for hours lost at night. Conversely, if you're getting eight hours of sleep each night yet still feel the need to nap, that might be the sign of a sleep disorder, or another health problem, so check with your physician or check out the National Sleep Foundation or the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for more sleep resources.