A simple nap has the potential to refresh the brain, increase alertness and reduce individuals' chances of making mistakes, according to the National Sleep Foundation. What people may not realize is the hand they use the most throughout the day could play a role in how well they benefit from taking naps.

This is the conclusion researchers from the Georgetown University Medical Center arrived at in a recent study - the results of which were presented at Neuroscience 2012. The research revealed that during naps, the right hemisphere of the brain communicates more with itself and the left hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere's tendency to talk to itself and the right side of the brain.

This is important, as researchers believe the right hemisphere is hard at work when people take naps. While they do not fully understand what exactly this side of the brain is doing, they think it could be processing and storing information. This is good news for left-handed individuals, since they tend to rely on the right hemisphere of their brains more than the left.

Based on this research, individuals who nap on a regular basis may be curious to see how it is influencing their intelligence. An IQ test may be able to provide the answers they seek.