Sleep deprived teenagers athletes are more likely to be injured – study

Saturday 27th October 2012

A study at Connecticut Children's Medical Centre in Farmington has found that athletes from middle and high school who have 8 hours sleep or more are 70% less likely to be injured than the athletes that have had less.

The study that was presented at the American Academy of Paediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans studied 112 athletes from a private combined school. They collected the data through an online survey which reviewed their training practices and any reported injuries. Different aspects were included in the survey – Number of sports played, time committed to athletics at school and outside of school during the past year, strength training, average amount of sleep per night and subjective enjoyment of sports participation

The results showed that the decreased likelihood of injury was associated with hours of sleep per night, while increased likelihood of injury showed an association with increasing school grade. The athletes who slept at least 8 hours per night were 68% less likely to be injured, compared with athletes who slept for less than 8 hours.

Tags: sleep research teenagers deprivation study

Category: Sleep Research

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