Effects of Sleep Restrictions on Maximal Strength, Muscle Power, and Strength Endurance in Resistance-trained Women.

Overview

The study aims to see how acute sleep restriction will affect women resistance trainers. Above all, the investigators will be interested in observing the relationship between shorter sleep and athletic performance, as well as other important aspects, such as their level of motivation to exercise, how much pain participants felt during exercise and how demanding they found exercise. The investigators assume that differences in subjective measures (such as pain levels, motivation and mood) will be most apparent.

Participants would take part in two identical experimental sessions under two sleep conditions: with sleep restrictions (SR), where will experience acute sleep restriction the night before the test session (i.e., 3 h of early sleep restriction versus normal sleep); with the control condition (CON), where participants will follow their habitual sleep-wake routines. Every session would separated by a 1-week interval. The average sleep duration (CON) is going to be estimated by using actigraphy Motionwatch 8 for 5 days (from Monday to Friday). Female athletes will receive accelerometers one day before experimental sessions. Participants will be asked to wear them on their non-dominant wrists from 8 p.m. to the next morning (experimental sessions day). The participants would complete the morning session with a battery of physical tests, measuring several components of specific physical performance capacity and cognitive function. During the experimental sessions, participants would be at the luteal or follicular phases excluding the period of bleeding (4-5 days) and the time immediately before planned bleeding (3 days before), because this can have a bad influence on sleep.