I&#x27;m lucky that I have an office to myself.  I nap almost every day after my mid-day snack (I eat three times at work, small amounts).  I usually drink a cup of green or black tea right before.  I nap sitting up in a chair and I run a timer. I don&#x27;t alarm the timer, I just want to know how long I have napped. Usually it is 8 mins to 23 mins and typically about 12 seems to be the median.<p>My ability to nap goes a long way back. Between undergraduate and graduate school I worked rotating shifts in a textile mill and had a job where I fed cloth into a large continuous washing machine.  I needed to tend to the machine every 5 to 10 mins.  I used to nap standing up for 1 to 2 minutes.  Maybe it was more like meditation. But whatever it was it helped me through the night. This was in the mid 1970s.<p>In the early 80’s I used to fly 48 to 50 weeks a year.  With delayed flights and customers that wanted to extract a full week of consulting for me I flew oten early morning and late evening.  I trained myself to sleep while the jet was taking off.  Even with the noise of the engine I was able to nap.  Now, when we travel for fun I have a hard time not sleeping for the first 15 minutes of the flight. This really surprises my family.<p>Around 2010 I had a meditation coach that gave me a post hypnotic suggestion (self hypnosis and meditation are really close to the same thing, at least for me) to go into a trance when I put my hands in a certain position.  So now when I nap I do that with my hands and 9 times out of 10 my brain quiets down and within a minute I am out.  Sometimes I don’t nap and I just quiet the brain (mindfulness meditation) but either way I feel better and am more productive.<p>My afternoon productivity is so much better. I can awaken. turn around, turn the lights on and start coding (Java, Python) within a few minutes. My productivity is so much better after a nap.<p>I’m 62 and want to work another 5 years or so.  I see the ability to nap critical to me staying competitive in my workplace.  I’m lucky I can nap sitting up and have my own office. Barring unforeseen issues I will work at the same place for the next 5 years.<p>I do manage my sleep cycle tightly because my wife and I are at the gym at 5:20 AM everyday of the week.  So I am usually in bed at 9 to 9:30. Of course this makes partying harder on the weekend but I’m not much on that anymore. The exercise is so important and I was so late to that game.  My prediabetes is gone (diet also helps) and I am more mobile and just feel better.<p>If you have trouble napping maybe you can find someone to coach you through meditation.  Local universities that have non-credit courses sometimes have meditation classes.  that is how I got my meditation coach.<p>Like normal your mileage may vary.