Asleep on the Job: Sleeping pods at the Empire State Building in New York
AFP-Getty Images

By Tina Peng 

If Kristine Johnson gets fewer than seven hours of sleep at night, she barely makes it through the workday. So when that happens, Johnson, a 33-year-old San Francisco office manager, takes a nap. She’s slept in a lawn chair on the roof of her office, in a locked private bathroom (with just a pillow for support) and in her car. Johnson naps at work only twice a month, but it makes a noticeable difference, she says. “It makes me more alert and better able to do my job,” she says.

She’s in good company. In March, the National Sleep Foundation reported that 37 percent of Americans nap during the day. About a third of the people surveyed by the NSF said their workplace permitted naps, and more than a quarter said they would sleep at work if their employer let them. Worktime napping has seen enough of a popularity boost to fill its own business niche: Yelo, a New York City store that opened last year, has private rooms with sleep pods for quick naps ($15 for 20 minutes; yelonyc.com). Its founder, Nicolas Ronco, plans to expand to three New York City locations next year and then to other cities.

Naps do more than make up for lost sleep. They increase creativity, memory and alertness, says Sara Mednick, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and author of “Take a Nap! Change Your Life.” A recent six-year study of 23,500 healthy Greek adults by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Athens Medical School showed that taking naps at least three days per week reduced coronary mortality by 37 percent.

Wine drinkers often turn to whites and rosés when the weather warms up. NEWSWEEK’s Tara Weingarten talked to master sommelier Rob Bigelow, the director of wine at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, about his favorite Italian varietals.

Nothing’s more American than a backyard summer barbecue. Why should we drink Italian wines with our burgers and hot dogs?
The acidity in some Italian wines means they are thirst-quenching and refreshing, in some cases as thirst-quenching as a cold beer.

We all know about wines from Chianti, but what are some of the less-known regions?
I love wines from Friuli, which is in the far northeast part of Italy. The Friulano grape is a white grape, more Sauvignon blanc-like in its austerity, more acidic, but still very aromatic. It’s crisp and fresh and perfect for summer dishes.

Rent “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s funny, defiant and unique animated vision of her tumultuous coming of age in Iran—with a hilarious detour to her exile in Vienna. It’s like no animated movie you’ve ever seen.

Surf livestrong.com, a health, fitness and lifestyle Web site launched by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Demand Media Inc. Browse thousands of videos, articles and nutritional-food profiles, as well as networking with others trying to meet similar health and fitness goals.

Hear “Supreme Genius of King Khan,” by King Khan and the Shrines. Garage-rock shaman King Khan has been peddling his sweaty blend of psychopunk R&B through Europe for nearly 10 years. Now with their first stateside release, the man and his band are set to arrive on our shores—all blazing horns, churning organ and barbed-wire guitar. Yow! ($13.98)

DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg, Brooklyn

By Zach Kussin

Not a Brooklyn native, but certainly a Brooklyn admirer, Zach Kussin has enjoyed his time exploring the DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, and Williamsburg neighborhoods. Having spent time living, learning and working in Manhattan, he was glad to discover the nice change of pace these three areas offer. They are home to some of New York's finest restaurants, art galleries and neighborhood flair. Without the hectic crush of Manhattan in the background, visitors can easily spend their Brooklyn visits at peace.

Stroll through Brooklyn Bridge Park, an urban oasis that offers a pleasant escape from the traffic as well as a variety of outdoor events, including Thursday-night films on a giant silver screen. This summer, visitors can also enjoy The New York City Waterfalls, a series of art installations created by the internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson. The 90 to 120-foot tall waterfalls located at the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, at the Brooklyn piers, at the shore of Governor's Island and at Pier 35 in Manhattan's Lower East Side will all be easily visible from Brooklyn Bridge Park's vantage point beginning on June 26.