A new study has found a surprising way for struggling sleepers to boost their energy levels, suggesting it may be better to hit the pavement instead of the hay.
Going for a jog, cycle or short workout may be the best method to counter the effects of sleep deprivation in just 20 minutes, researchers from McGill University in Canada found.
The group ran a trial on 54 healthy young adults who stayed awake for 30 consecutive hours under lab supervision. They were then split into three groups: a 20-minute cycling session, a 90-minute nap, or neither for control results.
Participants were then shown a series of images, which they returned to three days later for a memory test.
The 20 minutes of exercise was just as effective as a 90-minute nap for combating memory loss caused by a bad night of sleep, the trial results showed.
Report co-author Madhura Lotlikar, a doctoral candidate at McGill's neurology department, said: “Exercise is accessible, inexpensive and easy to implement. That makes it a promising tool to help people stay cognitively sharp when sleep is limited.
“A nap isn't always possible in the middle of a shift.”
The two methods also benefit the brain in different ways, authors noted. Napping appeared to help the brain “recharge”, making it easier to absorb new information.
Exercise had a contrasting effect of letting the brain “use its remaining resources more efficiently”.
Researchers added that exercise cannot replace sleep, but it may help people function better when they have less time to spare or aren’t in a position to be able to nap for 90 minutes during a lunch break.
These findings could be used to influence workplace strategies around fatigue, McGill University said, with sleep loss being a common issue that goes under-addressed.
A shorter nap of 30 to 60 minutes also isn’t preferable, the study found, arguing they “failed to show restorative benefits” compared with what a person would get from a longer nap of 90 minutes.
Neither exercising nor napping is the worst option, the study found, with participants in the control group performing 22 per cent worse on average than the other groups.
Marc Roig, professor at McGill’s physical and occupational therapy school and study co-author, said: “Sleep loss affects nearly every aspect of how we think and function, but many people can’t simply stop what they’re doing and get more sleep.
“Our findings show that even a brief bout of exercise may help preserve one of our most important cognitive abilities.”
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