Snooze, you lose ... but you might actually gain from a nap

I've never been one for taking afternoon naps, or "power naps" as some insist on calling them in a vain attempt to sound more grown up. Whenever I try, I tend to wake up feeling even more drained than when I went to sleep.

Of course, anyone who has worked in an office in China will have at some point spotted someone taking a post-lunch snooze, most likely right at their desk. Once, I dropped by a colleague's desk around 1 pm to find her fully reclined in her large leather chair with a blanket pulled up to her chin, comatose. I quietly placed the urgent paperwork she'd requested on her desk and tiptoed away.

Even if I did like napping, I'd never have dreamed of sleeping at my desk when I was working in Britain, not least because of the risk that some prankster might take the opportunity to decorate my face with phallic symbols using a permanent marker.