The Length of Nap That Makes People Happiest

Send this survey to Human Resources so we can all have afternoon meetings, our faces adorned with sleep creases.

People who take short naps are happier than those who take long naps or no naps, a new survey finds.

The conclusion comes from a survey of over 1,000 people’s napping habits and their happiness.

66% of people who took naps under 30 minutes reported being happy.

This compared with 56% who took naps over 30 minutes and 60% who did not take naps.

Professor Richard Wiseman, who led the research, 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.”

Professor Wiseman continued:

“A large body of research shows that short naps boosts performance. Many highly successful companies, such as Ben & Jerry’s and Google, have installed dedicated nap spaces, and employees need to wake up to the upside of napping at work.”

The research also found that ‘only’ 11% were allowed to take naps at work.

The reason I scare-quote ‘only’ is that I’m surprised anyone is allowed to take a nap at work.

While companies may pay lip service to the nap, many prefer workers to stay at their desks all day and all night.

Whatever.

I suggest sending this research straight to Human Resources.

Every office in the country should shut down between 2 and 3pm so we can all get a little nap.

Then we could all have our 3pm meetings in pyjamas and dressing gowns with sleep creases across our faces.

Wouldn’t that be a great world to live in?

The study was presented at the 2017 Edinburgh International Science Festival by Professor Richard Wiseman.