►Table 1.
Negative Effects of Sleep Deprivation.
| Study | Population/Activity | Sleep Deprivation | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reilly and Deykin 1983 [38] | Exercise trained men | 2.5 h total sleep/night over 3 nights | Multiple psychomotor functions negatively affected. Gross motor function (strength, lung power, endurance running) unaffected |
| Takeuchi et al 1985 [26] | 40 m dash; leg extension exercise | 64 h sleep deprivation | No effect on 40 m dash, isometric strength, or peak torque; authors conclude brief anaerobic performance may be maintained with sleep deprivation |
| Reilly and Hales 1988 [33] | Women | 2.5 h total sleep/night over 3 nights | Similar findings in women as Reilly 1983 study; more notable negative effects on reaction time than gross motor function |
| Sinnerton & Reilly 1992 [28] | Swimmers | 2.5 h less sleep /night over 4 nights | No effect on gross motor function (back & grip strength, lung function) or swimming performance. Depression, tension, confusion, fatigue, anger all increased, vigor decreased |
| Reilly and Piercy 1994 [34] | Weightlifting; bench press, leg press, deadlift, bicep curl | 3 h total sleep/night over 3 nights | Significant decrease in submaximal lifts on all tasks, and decrease in max bench press, leg press, deadlift |
| Bulbulian et al. 1996 [35] | Exercise-trained men; isokinetic knee extension & knee flexion exercise | 30 h sleep deprivation (1 night of no sleep) | Isokinetic peak torque significantly impaired |
| Souissi et al. 2003 [25] | Cycling; max, peak, & mean power | 24 h & 36 h sleep deprivation | Anaerobic power (max, peak, mean) unaffected at 24 h but decreased at 36 h of no sleep |
| Blumert et al. 2007 [23] | Collegiate weightlifters; snatch, clean, jerk, front squat | 24 h sleep deprivation | Mood suffered; increased confusion, fatigue total mood disturbance, less vigor, however no difference in snatch, clean, jerk, front squat, total volume or training intensity |
| Souissi et al. 2008 [29] | Male students majoring in physical education; Wingate test | 4 h delayed bedtime vs. earlier rising time, with 4 h sleep deprivation (either at beginning or end of night) | 4 h sleep deprivation at end of night affects peak, mean, & max power more than sleep deprivation at beginning of night; authors conclude early rising more detrimental than late bedtime |
| Azboy and Kaygisiz 2009 [22] | Male runners and volleyball players; incremental ergometer exercise test | One night (25–30 h) sleep deprivation | Decreased exercise minute ventilation and faster time to exhaustion; seen more in volleyball than runners |
| Oliver et al. 2009 [27] | Recreationally active healthy males; 30 min treadmill run at 60 % VO2max | 24 h sleep deprivation | Less total running distance covered (6 037 vs. 6 224 m); authors suggested reduced performance due to increased rate of perceived exertion |
| Skein et al. 2011 [24] | Male team-sport athletes; 15 m sprint times, double leg bounds, max knee extension | 30 h sleep deprivation | Decreases mean and total sprint times, altered sprint pacing strategies, decreased muscle glycogen, decreased peak force, increased perceptual strain |
| Taheri and Arabameri 2011 [36] | Male collegiate athletes; Wingate test & reaction time task | 24 h sleep deprivation | Decreased reaction time; no difference in anaerobic power (peak & mean) |
| Reyner and Horne 2013 [30] | Semi-professional tennis players; tennis serve accuracy | 5 h total sleep/night, tested with and without caffeine following day | Tennis serve accuracy decreased after sleep deprivation; caffeine had no beneficial effect |
| Souissi et al. 2013 [31] | Judo athletes; maximal voluntary contraction, grip strength, and Wingate tests before and after judo competition | 4 h sleep deprivation either at the beginning or end of the night | Sleep deprivation at the end of the night decreased muscle strength and power on following day, more so in the afternoon than morning; authors conclude early rising more detrimental than late bedtime |
| Mejri et al. 2016 [32] | Male Taekwondo athletes; intermittent running recovery test (Yo-Yo) | 4 h sleep deprivation at beginning of night vs end of night | Both types of sleep deprivation affects running performance (sleep deprivation at end of night moreso than beginning); lactate levels affected only with deprivation at end of night. Peak HR and rate of perceived exertion unaffected |
| Pallesen et al. 2017 [37] | Male junior soccer players; soccer skills including ball control, kicking, sprints with changes of direction | 24 h sleep deprivation | There was a net negative effect of sleep deprivation on continuous kicking test; 30 meter sprint with directional change test showed steeper learning curve in the sleep-deprived condition; significantly higher subjectively perceived sleepiness in the sleep deprivation group; authors concluded attention tasks are highly sensitive to the negative effects of sleep deprivation |