New research shows that a short afternoon nap can make a disproportionate improvement to your health, work performance and even sex life.

A new book by Harvard University sleep expert Dr Sara Mednick, Take a Nap! Change Your Life, describes the simple process of taking a nap as a “lifesaving habit”.

Dr Mednick, a psychologist and research scientist, has accumulated a lot of evidence that a simple siesta in the afternoon is the best medicine for a happier, healthier life. People who sleep for 30 minutes at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower chance of a heart attack, according to a lead researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr Mednick also claims that snoozers make fewer mistakes and have boosted brainpower. One of her experiments involved one group taking a nap, another group taking a mug of coffee (200mg of caffeine), and a control group taking a placebo (an inert substance).

They were then given a series of tasks, including typing and spatial skill tests. The coffee drinkers performed much worse than the placebo takers, while the nappers performed best of all. So the common assumption that coffee will keep you going through the day is an urban myth — or was probably fed to us by copywriters promoting sales of coffee.

In another study, recently published in Nature Neuroscience journal, the good doctor put 30 well-rested people through the same set of tasks four times in the course of a day, starting at 9am through to 7pm — a typical working day for freelances and the self-employed.

Performance dropped by 50 percent in those who stayed awake all day. However, the volunteers who took an afternoon nap kept up their performance throughout the day.

NASA gets in on the act too. Tests show that astronauts who took a brief snooze doubled their alertness, even if they were not tired before the nap. They also increased their work productivity by at least 13 percent.

The ideal time to nap is between 1pm and 3pm which enables the most restful kind of sleep pattern for boosting performance.

I was talking to a friend the other day. She was telling me about her new experiences with night sweats and hot flashes, wondering if they signaled the beginning of menopause. “Try soy supplements”, I told her confidently, having read and written about research that indicates soy phytoestrogens cool hot flashes.

I realized that, in writing for Fifty-Something Women, I end up learning a lot of important information and occasionally just some fun facts.

For instance, during coffee breaks at work I often go outside despite the cold to soak up some of the sun’s rays. I figure this will banish the specter of S.A.D. as well as boost my cancer-fighting level of Vitamin D.

I learned how to read my nutrition labels and why doing so can help me avoid Sadness Snacking and the dangers of comfort foods.

It comes in handy too, when I can point out that my second cup of coffee is really a diabetes preventative in disguise or when I mention that the danish I am having with it is only to add those few extra pounds that will stave off menopause symptoms.

Okay, so maybe I also look for a few excuses but everyone needs a few excuses in life if they want to enjoy it at all. Life, as we know, must be taken with a grain of chocolate.

Coffee and doughnuts, they just go together. Coffee and a doughnut is daily breakfast for millions of commuters, construction crews and office workers nationwide.

What if you could get that burst of alert along with your dose of morning sweetness all in one bite? Dr. Robert Bohannon of Durham, NC, is betting that a lot of people would go for it. Dr. Bohannon is a molecular scientist who has developed a method of adding caffeine to baked goods without adding caffeine’s bitter taste. Bohannon is looking to market the product in a national coffee-and-doughnut chain.

Personally, I am one who likes her morning cup of coffee. The sound of the coffeepot burbling and grunting, the aroma that fills the house, the streams of steam that arise from that first cup of hot, morning comfort. Skipping the percolating and chewing on a doughnut or bagel sounds like a way to eat your coffee and have it too, but somehow getting the kick without the traditional delivery system seems less than satisfying to me.

If you can’t face the world without your morning cup of coffee and even find yourself going back for seconds, you may be doing more than nudging your brain awake. You may be protecting yourself against the development of type 2 diabetes. And the more you drink, the lower your risk of developing the disease.

Those are the findings of a study published in the November issue of the journal, Diabetes Care. The research shows that drinking coffee reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 60%. The study was unique in that it involved participants who were already at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes due to impaired glucose tolerance, meaning their blood sugar levels were already higher than normal.

The research also indicates that even those who used to drink coffee but gave it up retain the diabetes protection.

So the next time you lay down some cash at Starbucks, you can consider it part of your medical expense budget.

Coffee May Protect Against Diabetes