20 Minutes of Exercise Is as Good as a 90-Minute Nap If You're Sleep Deprived
Reported byNautilus ↗·Sourced by Goodlede
A study from McGill University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that after 30 hours without sleep, 20 minutes of stationary biking preserved memory performance as well as a 90-minute nap did, because exercise forces the brain to use resources more efficiently rather than recharging it like sleep does.
This is a small study (54 adults, ages 18-35) showing exercise can help preserve cognition during acute sleep deprivation; it is not a replacement for regular sleep, which remains essential.
Goodlede runs a two-pass source check on every story: one pass finds it, a second skeptical pass re-verifies the claim and writes what it doesn’t prove. This is a source check, not an independent fact-check — confirm anything important at the link above.
Read the full story at Nautilus
Read original story ↗More good news, verified daily.
Goodlede covers positive developments across science, nature, rights, and human achievement — verified before they appear. No hype, no roundups, no PR wires.
© 2026 Wag Media, LLC
More from Goodlede