McGill University have published findings on ways to counter the effects of sleep deprivation.
Headlines:
- After 30 hours without sleep, subjects either had 20 minutes exercise, 90 minutes sleep, or neither. They were then shown a set of images.
- 3 days later they were asked to recall the images.
- 20 minutes of exercise was as effective as a 90 minute nap at significantly improving memory test scores.
- Brain recordings showed that napping helped the brain recharge, whilst exercise helped the brain use remaining resources more efficiently without feeling tired.
The authors point to implications for fatigue management in situations where sleep is limited and mistakes can be serious – such as health care and emergency response.