The famous Iberian custom of taking a daily afternoon nap could have major benefits in addition to relaxation and the relief of tiredness, it has emerged.

Research by academics in Israel has suggested that the Spanish siesta is effective in improving long-term memory and the ability to retain data among sleepers.

An experiment conducted by researchers at the Brain Behaviour Centre of Haifa University found that a 90-minute siesta had a significant effect on the memory faculties of participants, Typically Spanish reports.

The study involved two groups, with people in the first group taking a siesta and the others staying awake. According to the results, those who had a short sleep were able to perform noticeably better in a learning task afterwards, suggesting that a siesta is able to consolidate certain aspects of memory.

A previous report by Typically Spanish states that just 20 minutes is the ideal time for a siesta.

Tags: Lifestyle, Spain