Grant: Project Grant

The amount of time spent sleeping has been decreasing, and more than a third of Canadians currently suffer from short or disturbed sleep. Work schedules, stress and other lifestyle factors affect sleep. Sleep is not only important for the brain but also for the body. Short or disturbed sleep has been shown to lead to poor health (cardiovascular problems, diabetes, or obesity) and cognitive issues (poor attention, concentration and memory). Canada loses 80,000 working days every year to lack of sleep and short or disturbed sleep costs the economy $21 billon. Sleep and physical activity have a bidirectional link. Approximately 57% of men and 48% of females with insufficient sleep also claim to be too tired to perform exercise or physical activity. A diverse range of physical activities has been shown to improve sleep as well as memory. And a good night of sleep is known to enhance memory. To date, no studies have looked at the possible benefits of physical exercise in situations that are challenging for memory, such as sleep restriction. Given that the lack of sleep is widespread in our modern societies and has large impacts on health and cognition, there is an urgent need to study interventions that have the potential to compensate for the impacts of sleep loss. Our proposed study addresses this need, as we aim at studying the effects of physical exercise - an intervention known to improve sleep and memory - in sleep-deprived individuals. This project will pave the way for the development of innovative approaches in the prevention of cognitive problems in individuals with short sleep, due to lifestyle factors or sleep disorders.