Implications of sleep loss or sleep deprivation on muscle strength: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this review was to evaluate the current evidence regarding the impact of sleep deprivation (SD) on strength performance.

Methods: An English-language literature search revealed 514 articles through primary database searches, and 563 via organization searches/citation searching. The inclusion criteria were met by thirteen articles which were included in the review. The inclusion criteria set were healthy male and/or female adult participants, a sleep loss condition (e.g. SD or partial sleep deprivation), strength measures (e.g. back strength or leg strength or grip strength), and a peer-reviewed academic paper counterbalanced and/or or randomised in design.

Results: The systematic review identified a total of 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Some studies reported a negative impact of SD on strength performance, while others showed no significant differences following a night of SD. Both acute and chronic SD were found to result in some measures of muscle strength, power output, and muscular endurance to be significantly reduced. Additionally, impaired neuromuscular function and increased fatigue were commonly observed in sleep-deprived individuals.

Conclusion: The findings of this systematic review highlight the detrimental effects of SD on strength performance. Individuals involved in strength-based activities should prioritize adequate sleep to optimize their physical performance. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms linking SD and strength impairment, as well as to investigate potential interventions to mitigate these effects. Sleep hygiene education and interventions targeting sleep duration and quality should be implemented to promote optimal strength and performance outcomes. Future research should focus on understanding the mechanisms behind these effects and developing effective interventions to mitigate the adverse consequences of SD on muscle function.

Keywords: Muscle strength; ROB; ROBINS-I; Review; Sleep; Sleep deprivation.

Fig. 1

PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases, registers and other sources

Fig. 2

Risk of bias of the seven included studies, according to the ROBINS-I tool using the “traffic light” plots of the domain-level judgements for each individual result (McGuinnes & Higgins, 2020)

Fig. 3

Risk of bias of the six included studies, according to the RoB 2.0 tool using the “traffic light” plots of the domain-level judgements for each individual result (McGuinnes & Higgins, 2020)