German researchers at the University of Lubeck in Germany are just the latest to find that short naps prove beneficial, specifically in this instance by helping people retain information more quickly.

The findings were based on experiments with two groups of 12 individuals asked to memorize card patterns depicting animals and everyday objects. Researchers found that the napping subjects retained 85 percent of the patterns versus 60 percent for the nonsleepers. The study's author attributed the "unexpected result" to the "download" of memory from the hippocampus to the neocortext during sleep where it's stored more permanently.

The German study is just the latest confirming the benefits of naps. A study released last February found that individuals who napped in the afternoon learned new tasks more easily later in the day compared to those who didn't catch a siesta.

"Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap," said that study's author, University of California-Berkeley professor Matthew Walker.

On that note, I'll take a nap.