Instead of asking the participants about their napping habits, the researchers looked at the genetic information of 35,000 participants aged 40-69 from the UK Biobank study – a long large-scale biomedical study and database that gives researchers access to the health information of up to half a million participants.

‘But how does that link to napping?’ I hear you ask. Well, previous studies have identified a combination of genetic variants that make you more likely to be a habitual napper. So, with this in mind, the team identified the people who possessed these variants – aka the nappers – and compared their brain health to those who didn’t – the non-nappers.

And as we’ve already mentioned, the difference was significant enough for the researchers to sit up and pay notice. “Our findings suggest that, for some people, short daytime naps may be a part of the puzzle that could help preserve the health of the brain as we get older,” said senior author Dr Victoria Garfield from UCL.

Want to boost your brain health? The humble afternoon nap could be the answer