Research has shown that a midday nap benefits both mental fitness and overall health. Recently, The Boston Globe released an awesome and detailed piece on how to nap. Basically, it's important to nap during the right time of day and for the right amount of time.

But how do you make sure you don't oversleep during the day, especially when you're at work? You set an alarm! And since you're at work, what are you going to use? Your computer, the internet and online alarm clock.

A nap is not the only situation where an online alarm clock comes in handy. Imagine you have half an hour until you need to head out for a meeting, but you need to seriously focus on something and don't want to be bothered with watching the time.

Let's look at some practical online alarm clocks you might want to use next time...

KuKu Klok

The Swiss made Kuku Klok offers a very basic and easy to use interface. Set the wake up time and select one of the four preset sounds.

This one's actually terrific to play a prank on an unsuspecting individual because the electronic wake up sound is soooo horrible, almost like a smoke detector! Save this idea for April 1st or any other great occasion.

Avnoy Alarm Clock [No Longer Available]

This flash alarm clock isn't much different from the one described above, although the three available alarm sounds are much nicer (and not suited for pranks). So why did it make it on this list? It's stylish and it has a Snooze option which the previous tool is lacking.

Naked Alarm Clock

There really isn't anything naked about this one and the creator admits frankly that they chose the name to make it easy to remember. All its alarm sounds are rather nasty, but hey, they'll get your attention for sure!

Despite the ugly green color there are some very nice design ideas in this tool. For example the preset values for the minutes (black and white circles) or the 15 to 60 Minutes nap times setter, and the little info box in the bottom right which explains all buttons and functions when you move the mouse over them. All of that is very well done!

Music Alarm Clock

Finally an alarm clock that lets you pick really good alarms! The Music Alarm Clock provides some preset tunes or you can select a streaming radio station. The selection is international and not too bad. Once the alarm goes off it also offers a Snooze button for 5 minutes extra nap time.

Talking Alarm Clock [Broken URL Removed] (Windows)

Should you prefer to set your own tunes and should you prefer a desktop tool, I recommend the Talking Alarm Clock. It comes with a lot of options which allow you to perfectly tune your alarms.

Actually, I didn't get it to talk to me. Apparently there is no matching "text-to-speech" engine available on my computer and I didn't bother enough to make it work. Playing a custom media file however worked fine.

And yes, you can change the character. Along with the Dschinni there are Robby, Peedy and Merlin at your service.

For more online alarm tools, check out the MUO directory.

What are your secrets to a perfect nap at work?