Slept badly: train anyway?
Short answer
After 6 hours of sleep or less, performance fell by 7.56% on average in studies. If you train, lower your targets and postpone max attempts. Morning tasks were less affected.
Figures
- −7.56% · performance on average (Craven 2022)
- ~0.4% · less per hour awake after deprivation or early waking
- ≤ 6 h · sleep counted as sleep loss
- -7.56 (95% CI: -11.9–-3.13) change in performance, %: all exercise types
What the analysis shows
Craven and colleagues analysed 69 publications. Sleepless nights and waking too early consistently lowered performance; going to bed late did so less clearly. Morning tasks were largely unaffected; afternoon and evening tasks were not.
How to adjust the session
Train as planned, but lower the target by one or two reps or drop the last set. Do not test new maxes. According to the ISSN, caffeine may help some people under sleep loss; these are practical rules, not tested protocols.
Limits
The studies looked at acute sleep loss, almost only in men. The analysis does not show what chronically short sleep means for muscle growth.
Sources
- Effects of Acute Sleep Loss on Physical Performance: A Systematic and Meta-Analytical Review. · Craven · 2022 · Sports Medicine PubMed DOI Study note
- International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. · Guest · 2021 · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition PubMed DOI
- Inadequate sleep and muscle strength: Implications for resistance training · Knowles OE; Drinkwater EJ; Urwin CS; Lamon S; Aisbett B · 2018 · J Sci Med Sport PubMed DOI
Summaries by SetCtl, not medical advice.