Exercise Deprivation

Abstract

DELTA (slow wave, stages 3 and 4) sleep has been widely thought of as deep sleep according to criteria involving cerebral responsiveness or ease of arousal.^1-5On the other hand, it is commonly felt that exercise promotes sound or deep sleep, a notion supported by recent experimental studies which indicate the delta sleep-promoting effects of exercise both in animals^6,7and man.⁸Although it was shown in this laboratory⁸that subjects (Ss) who exercise regularly have more delta sleep on days with exercise than on days without it, it was not possible to determine the duration of the effects of exercise on sleep since the Ss never went without exercise for more than two consecutive days. Hence, we decided to study the sleep of a group of Ss used to regular exercise both while they were exercising and over a relatively prolonged