8 Easy Ways to Better Sleep

Photo by: CN Digital Studio

Naps are good! Take them in this window.

If you're on a normal, 9-to-5-ish schedule, your best bet for a quick snooze (if your job allows it) is between 1 and 3 p.m.-late enough that you'll actually be plenty tired but early enough that it won't interfere with your nighttime rest, says Jena Pitman-Leung, Ph.D., a sleep expert from shift-work consulting company Circadian in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

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Photo by: CN Digital Studio

Naps are good! Take them in this window.

If you're on a normal, 9-to-5-ish schedule, your best bet for a quick snooze (if your job allows it) is between 1 and 3 p.m.-late enough that you'll actually be plenty tired but early enough that it won't interfere with your nighttime rest, says Jena Pitman-Leung, Ph.D., a sleep expert from shift-work consulting company Circadian in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Next, length: Fifteen to 30 minutes is perfect. That's enough to feel refreshed, not groggy. If you sleep longer, you'll end up waking from deep sleep all fuzzy. But if you're seriously tired and can afford to, it's OK to sleep for 90 minutes, the ideal amount of time to complete all the phases of the sleep cycle, Pitman-Leung says. Assuming you take 10 minutes to nod off, set your alarm for about 30 minutes or 100 minutes and you'll get your full share of nappy goodness.

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