A new study suggests that exercise is perhaps the single best activity to avoid sleepiness at work. The findings appeared in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

The study involved people with hypersomnia, which is characterised by sleeping too much at night, as well as excessive daytime sleepiness. More than 100 subjects between ages of 18 to 70 suffering from Major Depression Disorder participated in the study. The researchers examined blood samples provided by study participants who were randomly assigned to two types of aerobic exercise to determine the effects of exercise on their depression. After analysing they found reductions in two biomarkers, BDNF and IL-1 beta, are related to reductions in hypersomnia.

"Identifying these biomarkers, combined with new understanding of the important role of exercise in reducing hypersomnia, have potential implications in the treatment of major depressive disorders," said the study's senior author, Madhukar Trivedi from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, US.

By Lizitha