Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 16, 2026
An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
Published on: May 26, 2020
Sleep patterns and injury occurrence in elite Australian footballers
Jackson Dennis1, Brian Dawson1, Jarryd Heasman2
1School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Australia; West Coast Eagles Football Club, Australia.
Objectives:
To examine the potential relationship between sleep duration and efficiency and injury incidence in elite Australian footballers.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Methods:
Australian footballers (n=22) from one AFL club were studied across the 2013 competitive season. In each week sleep duration and efficiency were recorded via actigraphy for 5 nights (the 3 nights preceding a game, the night of the game and the night after the game). Injury incidence was monitored and matched with sleep data: n=9 players suffered an injury that caused them to miss a game. Sleep in the week of the injury (T2) was compared to the average of the previous 2 weeks (T1). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine any effect of sleep duration and efficiency on injury. Significance was accepted at p<0.05.
Results:
Injury incidence was not significantly affected by sleep duration, sleep efficiency or a combination of these factors. Analysis of individual nights for T2 versus T1 also showed no differences in sleep quality or efficiency. However, a main effect for time was found for sleep duration and efficiency, with these being slightly, but significantly greater (p<0.05) at T2 (437±61min and 82±7%) than T1 (414±64min and 79±7%).
Conclusions:
No significant effect of sleep duration and efficiency on injury occurrence was found in elite Australian footballers.
