Dreaming of fewer operating accidents? Begin with higher sleep – Information and occasions

11 November 2025

If you might be among the many 620 million individuals who lace up their trainers frequently, chances are high that you just’re an early riser.

Hopefully, you’ll have obtained no less than eight hours of fine sleep the evening earlier than, in any other case your threat of damage skyrockets.

That’s the discovering from a new study led by Professor Jan de Jonge, a piece and sports activities psychologist at Eindhoven University of Technology within the Netherlands, and an Adjunct Professor on the University of South Australia.

In a survey of 425 leisure runners, Prof de Jonge and his crew discovered that these reporting shorter sleep period, decrease sleep high quality, and extra sleep issues have been practically twice as more likely to maintain an damage.

The findings, revealed in Applied Sciences, present “compelling evidence that sleep is a critical yet often overlooked component of injury prevention,” in accordance with Prof de Jonge.

“While runners specifically focus on mileage, nutrition and recovery strategies, sleep tends to fall to the bottom of the list,” he says.

“Our analysis reveals that poor sleepers have been 1.78 instances extra more likely to report accidents than these with steady, good high quality sleep, with a 68% chance of sustaining an damage over a 12-month interval.

“That’s a strong reminder that how well you rest is just as important as how hard you train.”

Recreational operating is without doubt one of the world’s hottest sports activities, however it additionally carries a excessive damage threat, with as much as 90% of runners experiencing an damage at some stage, costing the world economic system tens of millions of {dollars} annually in work absences and medical bills.

The research is among the many first to analyze sleep as a multidimensional think about relation to sports activities accidents, contemplating not simply period, but in addition high quality and sleep issues.

“Sleep is a vital biological process that allows the body and mind to recover and adapt to the physical and mental demands of training,” Prof de Jonge says.

“When sleep is disrupted or insufficient, the body’s ability to repair tissues, regulate hormones and maintain focus diminishes, all of which can increase injury risk.”

The analysis discovered that runners who recurrently skilled sleep issues resembling bother falling asleep, waking regularly in the course of the evening, or not feeling rested upon waking, have been notably susceptible to damage.

In distinction, these with constant sleep period and good sleep high quality reported fewer accidents.

Prof de Jonge says the findings have vital implications for each leisure and aggressive athletes, coaches, and well being professionals.

“We often assume that more training equals better performance, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

“Runners – especially those balancing training with work, family and social commitments – may actually need more sleep than average adults to recover properly. Sleep should be treated as a performance priority, not an afterthought.”

Experts advocate that folks ought to purpose for between seven and 9 hours of sleep per evening, with athletes typically needing extra relaxation, together with daytime naps, to assist psychological and bodily restoration.

Consistent bedtimes, minimising display screen use earlier than mattress, lowering caffeine and alcohol content material, and making a quiet, cool sleep atmosphere ought to be all be prioritised.

“Sleep quality and sleep duration are both important, but quantity often provides the bed-rock. Sleep should be recognized not only as a recovery tool, but also as a potential predictor of injury vulnerability in recreational sports.”

‘Sleep Matters: Profiling Sleep Patterns to Predict Sports Injuries in Recreational Runners’ is revealed in Applied Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/app151910814

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Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: [email protected]
Researcher contact: Prof Jan de Jonge M: +31 6 57562008  E: [email protected]