Which other factors can affect muscular endurance?

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    Last Updated: May 16, 2025

    Sleep is a crucial factor that affects muscular endurance, and short-term sleep loss reduces strength endurance by 10%. Additionally, muscular endurance declines with age and varies by sex, though training can help mitigate these effects.

    Sleep is an important factor for muscular endurance, especially considering the prevalence of sleep deprivation due to athletes’ traveling schedules, time zone changes, and insomnia before competition. A recent meta-analysis concluded that acute sleep loss (less than 6 hours of sleep) reduces strength endurance (i.e., ≥2 resistance reps or >5s sustained contraction) by 10%.[1]

    There is a general decline of muscular endurance with age, though this can be mediated by appropriate training regimens.[2] There are also generally differences in muscular endurance by sex.[3]