Sleep and Delayed-onset Muscle Soreness

A training programme was devised which involved the participants performing maximum squat repetitions with their own body weight as a workload, in order to induce delayed-onset muscle soreness in the quadriceps. Before the maximum squat repetition, all participants performed a warm-up programme including 5 minutes of walking. Participants were instructed to perform the maximum number of repetitions within the one minute allotted for each set of squats and, after a 10-second rest period, to continue the programme in the same cycle until exhaustion. In the initial 24-hour period following the intervention, participants were instructed to maintain their habitual sleep schedules. In consideration of the delayed-onset muscle soreness, which typically occurs between 24 to 48 hours following maximal squat intervention.The sleep group was instructed to engage in a minimum of six hours of sleep over the course of the 24-hour observation period.

A similar delayed-onset muscle soreness inducing protocol was applied to the sleep group.Participants in the non-sleep group were subjected to sleep restriction. The participants were permitted to sleep for a maximum of four hours in total over the course of the 24-hour period in non-sleep group.