Property in Spain has plenty to offer both second home buyers and professional investors, an expert has said.

Editor of independent property website BuyAssociation Paul Collins said that Spain will “always be popular with British overseas buyers” for a variety of reasons, such as the country’s climate, way of life and established status as a favourite holiday destination.

However, he also stated that Spanish property is very useful for investment purposes, particularly as the element of risk is comparatively low compared with other investment markets such as eastern Europe.

“Spain still offers some really good investment opportunities,” he said.

Mr Collins advised people looking for a property in Spain to take time over their decision and research all locations thoroughly, no matter what purpose they are buying for.

“Make sure that the property you find is exactly the right one for you,” he added.

According to a recent survey by pensions provider Scottish Widows, 39 per cent of British people consider moving overseas for their retirement, with many people favouring the warm weather and laidback lifestyle of the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca.

Some 87 per cent of Britons say their lives have turned out better than they expected after moving abroad, new research reveals.

According to the NatWest international personal banking (IPB) quality of life report, 91 per cent of those who have left the British Isles for foreign countries such as Spain are happier in their new location.

Moreover, the survey shows that British expatriates are wealthier, happier and healthier whichever country they now live in.

Dave Isley, head of NatWest IPB, said: “There are a number of different reasons why people relocate abroad, to be nearer to family and friends, to start a new job, or as the study demonstrates, to increase their quality of life.”

He added that this phenomenon is “only likely to increase in the future”, with a rising number of older people deciding they would rather be “sipping sangria in Spain” or sampling other foreign food and drink, than living in Britain.

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.