Daytime dozing is the key to ‘nappiness’, sleep study shows

NAPPINESS could become the new watchword for improving our sense of well-being, new research suggests.

Scientists have discovered a surprising link between taking short naps and happiness.

And they have coined a new word to describe the contented state that follows a brief daytime doze – “nappiness”.

Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, said: “Previous research has shown that naps of under 30 minutes make you more focused, productive and creative, and these new findings suggest the tantalising possibility that you can also become happier by just taking a short nap.

“Similarly, longer napping is associated with several health risks and, again, this is in line with our results.”

More than 1,000 people took part in the study, conducted for the Edinburgh International Science Festival, which begins tomorrow.

Happiness scores were obtained from answers to psychological questions in an online survey which also asked for details of napping habits.

The findings showed evidence of a significant association between short naps and happiness. Among the participants, short nappers who dozed for less than 30 minutes at a time were more likely to be happy than either “long nappers” or “no nappers”.

Two-thirds (66%) of short nappers reported feeling happy compared with 56% of long nappers and 60% of those who never napped.

Short nappers had an average happiness score of 3.67 on a five-point scale, no-nappers 3.52 and long-nappers 3.44. On the other hand, frequent hourlong naps are associated with an 82% increase in the risk of heart disease.