Chronic lack of Sleep leads to Injuries (*study)

The value of a good night’s sleep is widely known, and most of us would agree that it’s difficult to make progress in our training without enough sleep. But recent evidence suggests that lack of sleep is associated with an increase in sports related injuries.

A hundred and twelve adolescent athletes participated in a survey that examined their grade level, averate amount of sleep per night, and their injuries (if any). The researchers found that hours of sleep per night was the best predictor of injuries. Athletes who averaged less than eight hours per night were 1.7 times more likely to get injured, compared with athletes who slept for eight or more hours. For each additional grade in school, the athletes were also more likely to have been injured, but that appears to be an effect of time spent training and competing (i.e. a senior has likely spent more time playing their high-school sport, and at a higher level).

Here’s the study:

Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes.

Milewski MD1, Skaggs DL, Bishop GA, Pace JL, Ibrahim DA, Wren TA, Barzdukas A.

J Pediatr Orthop. 2014 Mar;34(2):129-33. doi: 10.1097/BPO.0000000000000151.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Much attention has been given to the relationship between various training factors and athletic injuries, but no study has examined the impact of sleep deprivation on injury rates in young athletes. Information about sleep practices was gathered as part of a study designed to correlate various training practices with the risk of injury in adolescent athletes.

METHODS: Informed consent for participation in an online survey of training practices and a review of injury records was obtained from 160 student athletes at a combined middle/high school (grades 7 to 12) and from their parents. Online surveys were completed by 112 adolescent athletes (70% completion rate), including 54 male and 58 female athletes with a mean age of 15 years (SD=1.5; range, 12 to 18 y). The students’ responses were then correlated with data obtained from a retrospective review of injury records maintained by the school’s athletic department.

RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that hours of sleep per night and the grade in school were the best independent predictors of injury. Athletes who slept on average <8 hours per night were 1.7 times (95% confidence interval, 1.0-3.0; P=0.04) more likely to have had an injury compared with athletes who slept for ≥8 hours. For each additional grade in school, the athletes were 1.4 times more likely to have had an injury (95% confidence interval, 1.2-1.6; P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Sleep deprivation and increasing grade in school appear to be associated with injuries in an adolescent athletic population. Encouraging young athletes to get optimal amounts of sleep may help protect them against athletic injuries.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.