Effects of acute exercise or short-term exercise interventions on metabolic markers during experimentally-induced sleep loss in humans: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Background: Exercise has positive impacts on metabolic health, whereas sleep loss has potentially negative impacts. This systematic literature review investigates whether acute and short-term exercise interventions can mitigate negative effects of experimentally-induced sleep loss on metabolic markers in humans.

Methods: A systematic search (PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane) following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines was conducted up to June 2024 for studies that compared glucose and insulin concentrations, insulin sensitivity, skeletal muscle gene expression, and other molecular markers following an acute or short-term (<14 days) exercise intervention during experimentally-induced sleep loss in adult humans. Articles were considered for inclusion and assessed for eligibility using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study design (PICOS) framework, and critically appraised with the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool.

Results: Of the identified records, 4026 records were screened, with 12 studies meeting all the inclusion criteria and including 177 participants. Sleep intervention varied from a single night of total sleep deprivation to 5 consecutive nights of 4-h sleep opportunity (e.g., early or late sleep restriction), while exercise intervention varied in terms of model (walking/running, cycling, and resistance exercise), volume (e.g., minute to hour), and intensity (e.g., maximum efforts to low-intensity exercise). Most studies indicated a negative effect of insufficient sleep on glucose and insulin concentration as well as mitochondrial adaptations, whereas exercise had a positive impact, mitigating the negative effects on the aforementioned parameters.

Conclusion: Exercise is likely to be effective as a therapeutic intervention for mitigating the negative effects of sleep loss on metabolic markers, at least in short-term intervention studies.

Keywords: Circadian; Glycemia; Insulin resistance; Insulin sensitivity; Sleep restriction.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Flow diagram of the study selection using PRISMA guidelines. PRISMA = Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

Fig. 2

Outcomes of risk of bias assessment for parallel and crossover-controlled studies. D = domain.