Personally, I perform so much better when I have a full night’s sleep. It really is night and day if I’m not sleeping well at night, and I’ve covered so much research on how poor sleep really can hold you back in the gym and on the running track. Researchers are uncovering how a lack of sleep really could be sabotaging your training and increasing your risk of running injuries. We hear so much about protein and electrolytes, but we can’t overlook our slumber. Let’s check out some of the latest research.
The study
A study published in the journal Applied Sciences involved 425 recreational runners in the Netherlands. The study authors set out to determine if sleep patterns could help predict who gets injured, and they identified four different common sleeping patterns:
- Steady sleepers: Good sleep quality and duration. Consistent sleep.
- Poor sleepers: Poor sleep quality or shorter sleep duration. Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
- Efficient sleepers: Solid, good quality sleep, but in a shorter amount of time. Fall asleep quickly.
- Fragmented sleepers: Interrupted or inconsistent sleep patterns. Waking up multiple times throughout the night.
The study authors adjusted for factors that could affect injury risk, such as age and training experience.
The results
The results revealed the following:
- Poor sleepers were significantly more likely to report running injuries compared to steady sleepers, with an injury probability (chance of injury) at around 68%.
- The other sleep types didn’t have a significant increase in injury risk.
The takeaway
The study authors pointed out that sleep isn’t just necessary for recovery; it might also help you predict your injury risk. Poor sleep really can make you more vulnerable to injury, and improving your sleep quality and the length of time you spend getting good sleep could help you stay injury-free. The researchers also pointed out that it’s often the quantity of sleep (how much sleep you get) that provides the bedrock.
