Sleep
and Injury Mitigation/Recovery
In PartI of this two-part series on sleep hygiene and the movement system, we
discussed how sleep helps solidify newly learned movement skills and even
improves them, particularly in the last two hours of an eight-hour sleep.
Now, we
will discuss sleep and its relationship to mitigation of injury and recovery. A
2014 study of adolescent competitive athletes demonstrated a significant higher
risk of injury with chronic lack of sleep.
Additionally,
evidence is demonstrating sufficient sleep to be vital not only for upcoming
physical performance but for physical recovery after performance. Adequate and quality sleep in the days after
a performance is linked to faster recovery from inflammation and quicker
initiation of muscle repair.
Finally,
Matthew Walker’s early career findings about the relationship between sleep and
recovery from brain damage are continuing to be validated, with research
discovering that the brain, with the help of sleep, re-organizes remaining
neural connections after a stroke. When sleep is integrated into an
individual’s recovery program post-neural injury, the quality of sleep is
related to motor function return and movement skill re-learning.
Tips to
getting our Zzzzzzzs may appear to be obvious. But in the words of
motivational coach, Brendon Burchard, “Common sense is not often common
practice.”
Tips to
improving sleep hygiene (seriously, read Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep?”
for deeper reasoning behind these suggestions)
1.
Stick to a schedule: go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
2. Try
not to exercise within 2-3 hours prior to bedtime.
3.
Avoid caffeine too late in the day, avoid alcohol before bed, avoid large meals
and beverages late at night.
4.
Create a nighttime routine that allows you to wind down, relax, and prepare
your body for sleep. This may include: music, reading, a hot bath, a cup of tea.
5.
Create a dark, cool, gadget-free bedroom. Do not lie in bed awake >20-30 min
if you can’t fall asleep.
6. Get
at least 30 minutes of daylight per day in the morning and turn lights down at
night to cue your circadian rhythm appropriately.
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References
1. Walker M. Why We
Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. New York, NY: Scribner;
2015.
2. Milewski MD et al. Chronic lack of sleep is associated
with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. Journal of Paediatric
Orthopaedics. 2014;34(2):129-33.
3. Berger K. In multibillion-dollar business of NBA, sleep
is the biggest debt. June 7, 2016.
Accessed at https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/in-multi-billion-dollar-business-of-nba-sleep-is-the-biggest-debt/
.
4. Mah CD, Mah KE, Kezirian EJ, Dement WC. The effects of
sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players.
Sleep. 2011;34(7):943-50.
5. Herron K, Dijk D, Ellis J, Sanders J, Sterr AM> Sleep
correlates of motor recovery in chronic stroke: a pilot study using sleep
diaries and actigraphy. Journal of Sleep Research. 2008;17:103.
6. Siengsukon C, Boyd LA. Sleep enhances off-line spatial
and temporal motor learning after stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural
Repair. 2009;4(23):327-35.
