Sleep Deprivation And Exercise: How Movement Protects Brain Function After An All-Nighter

We now know high-intensity yoga is one of the best exercises you can do to boost sleep quality.

And, according to new research, it turns out you can even rely on movement to help counter the effects of pulling an all-nighter.

Sleep deprivation is no joke and is thought to impact one in three adults globally. Poor quality sleep can impact negatively on our physical and mental health, as well as increasing the risk of accidents.

“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,” said Professor Marc Roig, from McGill University’s School of Physical and Occupational Therapy.

So, researchers from his team set out to discover whether exercise or a short nap could help mitigate against some of the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain.

The relatively small study involved 54 healthy young adults who stayed awake for 30 hours under lab supervision.

They were then assigned to one of three groups: a 20-minute cycling session, a 90-minute nap or doing nothing.

Three days later, researchers tested their memory for images they had viewed immediately after each intervention and found those who had exercised or napped had better memory recall.

In fact, they performed about 22% better on memory tests after 30 hours without sleep, than those who did neither.

“Our findings show that even a brief bout of exercise may help preserve one of our most important cognitive abilities,” said Prof Roig.

What’s more, brain recordings revealed that exercise and napping helped memory recall in different ways.

While napping appeared to help the brain recharge, making it easier to take in and remember new information, exercise helped the brain use its remaining resources more efficiently.

Researchers suggested the findings could inform fatigue-management strategies in workplaces where sleep loss is common and mistakes can have serious consequences – for example, in healthcare settings.

“A nap isn’t always possible in the middle of a shift,” said first author Madhura Lotlikar, a doctoral candidate in McGill’s Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

“Exercise is accessible, inexpensive and easy to implement. That makes it a promising tool to help people stay cognitively sharp when sleep is limited.”

Previous research has also found that physical activity might counter some of the negative impacts of poor sleep. The study authors said, at the time, that people who did at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week “were, to some extent, protected against the detrimental health effects of poor sleep”.

Regular exercise can also improve sleep quality overall.

If you’re chronically sleep deprived, and it’s causing you distress or impacting wellbeing, speak to a specialist who can offer tailored support to your circumstances.