Do you ever take an afternoon nap?

Sleep deprivation in the UK has long been running at epidemic rates, with one in five having trouble falling asleep every night and a shocking two thirds of midlife women, aged 45-54, reporting disrupted sleep at least once a month.

But there’s a simple solution. It’s backed by dozens of scientific studies, and yet it’s still treated, perplexingly, as a bit of a joke. Known across the Mediterranean as a siesta, the daytime nap is a wonderfully protective night-time in miniature for repairing, soothing, healing and boosting — in as little as ten minutes.

Sir Winston Churchill was an advocate of afternoon naps. Naps were so sacrosanct to him that he kept a bed in the Houses of Parliament and believed that napping was the key to his success in leading the country through the Battle of Britain.

He said “Nature has not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without that refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts twenty minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.”

People imagine a nap during the day will make it harder to get to sleep at night. But apparently, the exact opposite is true. A short nap of about 20 minutes will improve your mood and — if taken at least six hours before bedtime — your propensity to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

What are your views?  Do you ever take an afternoon nap?  If you had the option, would you like to have a nap during your day? If you do take a nap currently, what benefits do you feel?