Scientists have discovered a link between taking short naps and happiness - like we needed any more convincing.

While sleep in general boasts a wide range of health benefits from increasing productivity to protection against heart disease, now it turns out that brief napping has some pluses all of its own.

And, they’ve even given the satisfied state that follows its own name – nappiness.

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.”

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The study, which was conducted for the Edinburgh International Science Festival, saw 1,000 participants answer psychological questions in an online survey which asked for details of napping habits.

According to their responses, nappers were then given a happiness score.

The findings revealed that those who took a brief daytime doze had an average score of 3.67 on a five-point scale, while non-nappers scored 3.52 and long-nappers 3.44.

It also showed that 66 per cent of short nappers reported feeling happy compared with 56 per cent of long nappers, highlighting a significant association between short naps and an improved sense of wellbeing.