|
 Based on survey data for 7,576 men and women in the Army's Special
Operations Forces, soldiers who got no more than four or five hours
of sleep a night were more than twice as likely to report a
musculoskeletal injury in the past 12 months as those who slept
eight hours or longer.
"Adequate amounts of sleep, especially among active athletes, have
not only been shown to improve physical performance and health but
may also now have a positive impact on musculoskeletal injury
prevention," said study coauthor Tyson Grier of the U.S. Army Public
Health Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
Over the year-long study, more than half of the soldiers said they
had experienced at least one musculoskeletal injury.
Most participants, about 63%, got six or seven hours of sleep a
night. About 10% got no more than four hours, and only 16% got at
least eight hours.
Compared to people who reported eight hours or more of sleep each
night, soldiers who slept seven hours were 24% more likely to
experience a musculoskeletal injury.
The risk climbed as sleep declined, with a 53% greater injury risk
at six hours of sleep, a doubled risk at five hours of sleep and 2.4
times the risk at four hours or less.
Musculoskeletal conditions can include everything from a sprained
ankle to a torn rotator cuff or herniated disc in the spine. Causes
of injury are just as wide-ranging, and can include high-intensity
exercise, a physically demanding job or too many hours typing at a
computer.
In the Army, two-thirds of injuries are musculoskeletal overuse
injuries, mostly attributed to physical training or repetitive
activities, the study team writes in the journal Sleep Health.
With some 42% of Army personnel reporting an average five hours of
sleep or less, making sure soldiers get adequate rest could be a way
to reduce injury risk, they add.
[to top of second column] |
One limitation of the analysis is that researchers relied on soldiers' report of
how long they slept. Further research would also be needed to test whether
increasing sleep time really reduces injuries.
It's possible that too little sleep leads to decreased alertness and attention
that makes people more likely to get hurt, said Dr. Hohui Wang of the University
of California, San Francisco, who wasn't involved in the study.
"Additionally, sleep loss causes cell damage in multiple organs," Wang said by
email. Catching up on sleep might help reverse this cell damage.
Most people are healthiest and perform their best with seven to nine hours of
sleep a night, said Captain Jeffrey Osgood of the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"If someone is getting six or fewer hours of sleep per night on a regular basis,
or if they are having a hard time getting to sleep, staying asleep, or waking up
too early, they should prioritize taking steps to improve their sleep," Osgood,
who also wasn't involved in the study, said by email.
"Try to avoid caffeine, nicotine, and exercise in the hours leading up to sleep;
avoid using alcohol as a sleep aid; don't go to bed hungry; try to keep your
bedroom dark and quiet; use sleep masks and/or earplugs if needed; and keep your
smartphone/devices out of bed," Osgood advised.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/39SyNHI Sleep Health, online February 13, 2020.
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
