American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release Apr 26, 2018

Research Finds Decreased Sleep is a Risk for In-Season Illness

Todd Domeyer, MD presented a research abstract regarding the impact of sleep on illness in youth athletes at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Prior studies have suggested that lack of sleep could lead to illness in athletes, but Dr. Domeyer and a group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison wanted to examine the connection more closely. The study set out to determine whether sleep could predict in-season illness in female youth soccer players — and youth athletes in general.

More than 100 teenage soccer players were monitored for three seasons. During that time, players recorded their hours of sleep, their training schedule and any illness during the season.

Dr. Domeyer found that reduced weekly sleep relative to the prior month led to a greater chance of in-season illness. This suggests that relative sleep restriction may be a better predictor of illness risk than acute or chronic sleep duration alone.

The impact of sleep on illness in youth athletes is significant, particularly in light of the increased awareness of sleep’s impact on performance, recovery and injury. And this study indicates that monitoring sleep duration and getting adequate rest may help youth athletes reduce the risk of illness in athletes.

“I think this study shows another important impact of sleep loss on athletes and gives us one more piece of the puzzle on how to keep our athletes healthy and active.”

About the AMSSM Annual Meeting: The 2018 conference brings more than 2,000 sports medicine physicians together from throughout the United States and around the world. The meeting theme is REACH: Reaching Up, Reaching Out, Reaching Ahead and explores the many ways AMSSM is leading the charge and shaping the future of sports medicine.

About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of more than 3,600 sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic and Paralympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org