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More sleep may help prevent athletic injuries in adolescents
The best way to aid young athletes in the prevention of sports-related injuries may be to help them get more rest at night.
“Sleep deprivation and increasing grade in school appear to be associated with injuries in an adolescent athletic population,” Matthew D. Milewski, MD, and colleagues write in the study.
Researchers were given informed consent of 112 student-athletes (54 male, 58 female, grades 7 to 12) with a mean age of 15 years to take part in an online survey of training practices as well as sleeping habits. This data were compared with a retrospective review of the school athletic department's injury records.
Milewski and colleagues found that athletes were 1.7 times more likely to incur injury if they had less than 8 hours of sleep on average per evening than athletes who got 8 or more average hours of sleep nightly. Athletes were determined to be 1.4 times more likely to have an injury for each grade level they advanced.
“Encouraging young athletes to get optimal amounts of sleep may help protect them against athletic injuries,” Milewski and colleagues, concluded.
Reference:
Milewski M. J Pediatr Orthop. 2014;doi:10.1097/BPO.0000000000000151
Disclosure: Milewski has no relevant financial disclosures.