Nodding off? Power naps can be great refreshers

Zzzzzz. . . . Mmm? Sorry, I must have nodded off. Not a bad thing, actually — in fact I shouldn't be apologizing at all. You see, it's "National Nap at Work Week" here, a good excuse to celebrate one of the most delicious antidotes to an overpacked schedule: the power nap.

JFK and Reagan were apparently big catnappers. So, too, Edison and Einstein, Brahms and da Vinci.

Napoleon dozed on the battlefield, while Winston Churchill napped throughout World War II, enthusing that a good afternoon snooze created two days out of one.

So we're in illustrious company. Dozing is definitely not just for pensioners and babies.

In fact, sleep experts seem to believe that more and more of us should try to power down for a few minutes at work every day. They point to a large body of research suggesting that the catnap can improve productivity and boost morale in a bleary-eyed society.

Surveys consistently indicate that people feel sleep deprived. A poll this week for Britain's GMTV found two-thirds of people said they had trouble sleeping, and 4 in 5 said they do not feel refreshed after a night's sleep. Only 19 percent said they got the recommended eight hours per night.

On average, people sleep for 90 minutes less each night than their forebears did a century ago, according to Stanford University research. Blame multichannel TV, shiftwork, international travel, caffeine, or the always-on working culture. Or just restless children.

"I have a real down period in the afternoon — by 2 or 3 I'm flagging," says Claire Walker, a working mom who's normally up before dawn and often still working late at night.

She set up a quiet room at her South London consultancy, Firefly, with dim lighting, a big leather chair like the recliners used by dentists, and a set of headphones. People duck in at different times of the day, but not for long, she says. "A quick blast is a way to re-energize for the rest of day."

Sleep experts say deep, lengthy slumber in the middle of the day can prove counterproductive and create an effect akin to jet lag.

Salvador Dali apparently guarded against this by napping with a spoon in his hand, held above a metal bowl. As he descended deeper into the surreal world of REM slumber, the spoon would clatter into the bowl, waking him up.

"You don't go into a deep sleep, but just drift off," explains Jessica Alexander of the Sleep Council, a lobby group. "It helps recharge and can improve productivity."