Sleep and Injury
Research has consistently found that sleep is a crucial element of athlete performance, recovery and overall health. Importantly, athletes who sleep more are less likely to experience an injury. Specifically we have found that one hour of increased sleep is associated with a 30-40% reduction in injury risk the following day. In addition, athletes with chronically poor sleep may have an increased injury risk of nearly 60% over time. Unfortunately, athletes have been consistently found to have insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality. Young athletes experience a number of important threats to sleep, but simple steps to improve and increase sleep can have a profound impact on both health and performance.
- Decreased Sleep Is an Independent Predictor of In-Season Injury in Male Collegiate Basketball Players
- This study found that among collegiate basketball players, decreased sleep is associated with a significant risk of injury the following day, even after accounting for training load, and well-being (mood, stress, fatigue).
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- Decreased Sleep and Subjective Well-Being as Independent Predictors of Injury in Female Collegiate Volleyball Players
- This study of collegiate female colleyball athletes found that an extra hour of sleep was associated with a 30% reduction in injury risk the following day. While well-being also remained an independent predictor of injury risk, sleep was the most important predictor.
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- Sleep and the Young Athlete
- This review highlights the relationships between sleep, injury, mental health and performance in young athletes. It offers specific recommendations, especially with respect to travel.
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- Multiple factors explain injury risk in adolescent elite athletes: Applying a biopsychosocial perspective
- This study followed nearly 500 athletes from 16 different sports over a full year to evaluate the association between different risk factors and injury. Athletes with decreased sleep volume in a given week were more likely to be injured and this effect was amplified during periods of higher training load. Together this suggests that increased physical loads and decreased recovery have additive effects on injury risk.
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- Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes
- This retrospective study asked middle and high school athletes from multiple sports to estimate their average nightly sleep and then looked at school training room logs to identify injuries. Athletes who estimated less than 8 hours of sleep per night were found to be 70% more likely to have an injury during the prior 21 months.
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- Impact of in-season injury on quality of life and sleep duration in female youth volleyball athletes: a prospective study of 2073 players
- In a study of over 2000 high school volleyball athletes, athletes who slept less prior to the season were more likely to suffer an injury during the season.
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- Lack of Sleep and Sports Injuries in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
- This review study identified and aggregated prior studies of the relationship between sleep and injuries on youth athletes. When analyzed together, adolescent athletes with chronically impaired sleep were 58% more likely to suffer an injury than those who slept well.
- Manuscript
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