Enough Sleep Could Reduce Risk of Injury, Study Finds
2020-03-10
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1A new study suggests that healthy adults who get at least eight hours of sleep a night may be less likely to experience common exercise-related injuries.
2The study was based on information from over 7,500 United States soldiers in the Army's Special Operations Forces.
3About 95 percent of the study subjects were men.
4The researchers found that soldiers who got no more than four to five hours of sleep a night were over two times as likely to report bone or muscle injury in the last year than those who slept eight hours or longer.
5Tyson Grier is with the U.S. Army Public Health Center in Maryland.
6He was one of the writers of the study.
7He said that getting enough sleep not only improves physical performance among active people,
8but it "may also...have a positive impact on musculoskeletal injury prevention."
9During the yearlong study, more than half of the soldiers said they had experienced at least one musculoskeletal injury.
10Most study subjects - about 63 percent - reported getting six to seven hours of sleep a night.
11About 10 percent reported getting no more than four hours.
12Only 16 percent got eight hours or more.
13Compared to those who reported eight hours of sleep or more each night, soldiers who slept seven hours were 24 percent more likely to experience a musculoskeletal injury.
14The risk climbed as the hours of sleep dropped, with a 53-percent greater injury risk at six hours of sleep.
15At five hours of sleep, the risk of injury was two times greater.
16In the Army, two-thirds of injuries are from musculoskeletal overuse.
17Most are caused by physical training or repetitive activities, the research team wrote in the study, which was published in Sleep Health.
18About 42 percent of Army soldiers report an average of five hours of sleep or less each night.
19The study notes that making sure soldiers get enough rest could be a way to reduce injury risk.
20One limitation of the study is that researchers depended on soldiers reporting how long they slept each night.
21And, additional research would be needed to test whether increasing sleep time really reduces injuries.
22Dr. Hohui Wang is with the University of California, San Francisco.
23He was not involved in the study.
24He said that getting too little sleep leads to decreased attention and mental energy,
25which can lead to people being more likely to get hurt.
26Wang added that sleep loss causes "cell damage in multiple organs."
27Getting extra sleep might help reverse this cell damage over time.
28Most people are healthiest and perform their best with seven to nine hours of sleep a night, said Captain Jeffrey Osgood.
29He is with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland.
30He was not involved in the study.
31Osgood offered suggestions for how people can get more - and better-quality - sleep.
32He advises the following:
33"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."
34I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A new study suggests that healthy adults who get at least eight hours of sleep a night may be less likely to experience common exercise-related injuries. 2The study was based on information from over 7,500 United States soldiers in the Army's Special Operations Forces. About 95 percent of the study subjects were men. 3The researchers found that soldiers who got no more than four to five hours of sleep a night were over two times as likely to report bone or muscle injury in the last year than those who slept eight hours or longer. 4Tyson Grier is with the U.S. Army Public Health Center in Maryland. He was one of the writers of the study. He said that getting enough sleep not only improves physical performance among active people, but it "may also...have a positive impact on musculoskeletal injury prevention." 5During the yearlong study, more than half of the soldiers said they had experienced at least one musculoskeletal injury. 6Most study subjects - about 63 percent - reported getting six to seven hours of sleep a night. About 10 percent reported getting no more than four hours. Only 16 percent got eight hours or more. 7Compared to those who reported eight hours of sleep or more each night, soldiers who slept seven hours were 24 percent more likely to experience a musculoskeletal injury. 8The risk climbed as the hours of sleep dropped, with a 53-percent greater injury risk at six hours of sleep. At five hours of sleep, the risk of injury was two times greater. 9In the Army, two-thirds of injuries are from musculoskeletal overuse. Most are caused by physical training or repetitive activities, the research team wrote in the study, which was published in Sleep Health. 10About 42 percent of Army soldiers report an average of five hours of sleep or less each night. The study notes that making sure soldiers get enough rest could be a way to reduce injury risk. 11One limitation of the study is that researchers depended on soldiers reporting how long they slept each night. And, additional research would be needed to test whether increasing sleep time really reduces injuries. 12Dr. Hohui Wang is with the University of California, San Francisco. He was not involved in the study. He said that getting too little sleep leads to decreased attention and mental energy, which can lead to people being more likely to get hurt. 13Wang added that sleep loss causes "cell damage in multiple organs." Getting extra sleep might help reverse this cell damage over time. 14Most people are healthiest and perform their best with seven to nine hours of sleep a night, said Captain Jeffrey Osgood. He is with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland. He was not involved in the study. 15Osgood offered suggestions for how people can get more - and better-quality - sleep. 16He advises the following: 17"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." 18I'm Ashley Thompson. 19Lisa Rapaport reported this story for Reuters news agency. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20_________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22muscle -n. a body tissue that can contract and produce movement 23positive -adj. good or useful 24impact -n. a powerful or major influence or effect 25musculoskeletal -adj. related to the muscular and skeletal systems of a human body 26caffeine -n. a substance that is found especially in coffee and tea and that makes you feel more awake 27nicotine -n. a poisonous substance in tobacco that makes it difficult for people to stop smoking cigarettes 28mask -n. a covering for your face or for part of your face 29earplugs -n. a piece of soft material that you put in your ear to keep out water, noise, etc.