Hormonal secretion during nighttime sleep indicating stress of daytime exercise

We tested the hypothesis that long-duration exercise (LDE) of moderate intensity, but not LDE of low intensity, during the daytime changes the typical temporal patterns of hormone release during subsequent nocturnal sleep. Ten trained healthy men participated in a balanced crossover study including three conditions: 1) no exercise, 2) LDE of low intensity (biking 40 km; 1800-2030), and 3) LDE of moderate intensity (biking 120-150 km; 1600-2030). During the subsequent night (2300-0700), somnopolygraphic sleep recordings were obtained, and concentrations of cortisol, growth hormone (GH), and testosterone were measured every 15 min. During the no exercise nights, the typical secretory patterns were present with peak concentrations of GH but nadir concentrations of cortisol during the first half of sleep but increased cortisol levels and minimum GH levels during the second part of sleep. Testosterone concentrations increased during the second half of sleep. LDE of moderate intensity reduced rapid-eye-movement sleep [13.9 vs. 16.9% (no exercise); P < 0.01]. Levels of testosterone decreased with increasing intensity of daytime exercise (P < 0.05). Moderate-, but not low-intensity, LDE decreased GH levels in the first half (P < 0.05) and increased GH levels in the second half (P < 0.005) of sleep. Also, LDE of moderate intensity but not LDE of low intensity increased cortisol levels during the first half (P < 0.005) and decreased cortisol secretion during the second half (P < 0.05) of sleep. Results suggest that nocturnal profiles of GH and cortisol concentrations may serve to indicate the disturbance of normal anabolic functions of sleep due to daytime exercise.