Sleep deprivation, chronic exercise and muscular performance.

Abstract

Muscular performance was tested during 64 hours of sleep deprivation with and without intermittent excercise (treadmill walking at 28% of maximum oxygen intake). The subjects (12 males aged 22·7 ± 2·2 years) carried out a cross-over trial with an 8 week interval separating the two periods of sleep deprivation. The sleep deprivation did not change the time for a 40 m dash, isometric handgrip force or balance (stabilometer test). Vertical jump height decreased, the change being significant for simple sleep deprivation, but not for the combination of deprivation and intermittent exercise. Sleep deprivation decreased isokinetic extension force at 60° s−1, while intermittent walking decreased isokinetic extension force at both 60 and 180° −1; however, there was no significant difference between exercise plus sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation alone at either angular velocity. We conclude that the moderate intensity of physical activity likely in industrial work has little influence upon human performance ...