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Insufficient Sleep in Young Athletes? Causes, Consequences, and Potential Treatments

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Abstract

Sleep is essential in the preparation for, and the recovery from, training and competition. Despite being important for all individuals, young athletes are considered an at-risk group for reduced sleep duration and quality. The purpose of this review is to synthesise current literature relating to sleep duration and quality in young (14–25 years) athletes. Specifically, typical sleep and wake patterns, factors affecting sleep and wake patterns, and the consequences of altered sleep and wake patterns in young athletes are discussed. Scheduling training and competition in the afternoon or evening appears to result in reduced sleep duration due to less time in bed. Evidence suggests that young athletes who obtain less than 8 h of sleep per night are at a higher risk of musculoskeletal injury. An increase in sleep duration above habitual nightly sleep may be associated with favourable performance in young athletes; however, the associations between sleep quality and performance- and health-related outcomes remain unclear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Building 81/1.16, Central Queensland University, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, QLD, 4702, Australia

    Jordan L. Fox, Aaron T. Scanlan & Robert Stanton

  2. Human Exercise and Training Laboratory, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia

    Jordan L. Fox & Aaron T. Scanlan

  3. Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science, Central Queensland University, Wayville, SA, Australia

    Robert Stanton & Charli Sargent

Authors
  1. Jordan L. Fox
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  2. Aaron T. Scanlan
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Correspondence to Jordan L. Fox.

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Funding

This research was supported under the Commonwealth Government’s Research Training Program. The lead author gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the Australian Government.

Conflicts of interest

Jordan L. Fox, Aaron T. Scanlan, Robert Stanton, and Charli Sargent declare they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

Additional information

Part of the following topical collection: Athlete Health & Wellness.

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Fox, J.L., Scanlan, A.T., Stanton, R. et al. Insufficient Sleep in Young Athletes? Causes, Consequences, and Potential Treatments. Sports Med 50, 461–470 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01220-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01220-8

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