New research suggests a fact we idlers have known all along: if you want to get ahead, take a nap. The journal Science reported the research which was carried out by a Dr Wen-Biao Gan in a study of mice undertaken at New York City’s Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at NYU Langone. One load of mice were deprived of sleep while another load were allowed to doze as long as they wanted. The sleep-deprived mice appeared to be considerably more stupid than their well-rested fellows. “Sleep helps neurons form very specific connections on dendritic branches [ie brain cell connectors] that may facilitate long-term memory,” concluded the researchers. “Different types of learning form synapses on different branches of the same neurons, suggesting that learning causes very specific structural changes in the brain.” This would certainly accord with our own literary research, which tends to suggest that the brainier the individual, the more they slept, the best example being Dr Johnson, who lay in bed every morning till at least noon. Mrs Thatcher famously got by on four hours a night and as a result was completely insane and a total philistine. Other great nappers include Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison, inventor of the infernal lightbulb.

If you would like to take a closer look at the study, you may download the press release from NYU Langone by clicking on this link:

http://communications.med.nyu.edu/media-relations/news/sleep-after-learning-strengthens-connections-between-brain-cells-and-enhances-m