20-Minute Workout or 90-Minute Nap May Offset Effects of a Sleepless Night

A short bout of aerobic exercise or a 90-minute nap may improve cognitive function after a sleepless night. MStudioImages/E+/Getty Images A short workout or a 90-minute nap may help your brain recover after a sleepless night, a new study found. The nap was particularly effective: people who took it performed about 22% better on memory tests than those who stayed awake. The findings suggest that either option may offer a practical way to offset some of the cognitive effects of sleep deprivation, rather than pushing through the day. A short bout of aerobic exercise or a 90-minute nap may boost your brainpower after a sleepless night. New research from McGill University found that healthy young adults who exercised or napped after 30 hours without sleep performed better on memory tests than a control group. The findings, recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could have practical implications for those who must regularly function with limited sleep. “We found that both a 20-minute bout of moderate-to-vigorous exercise and a 90-minute nap protected the brain’s ability to form new memories after 30 hours without sleep,” said study co-author Marc R…