Lack of Sleep and Injury Risk in College Athletes at a NCAA DIII Liberal Arts

College

A Research Project
Presented to
The Athletic Training Department
Emory & Henry College

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the Degree
Bachelor of Science

by
Ryan Byrd, ATS
December 16, 2015

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ABSTRACT
Context.
The topic for this research project is sleep deprivation being a correlation to the
development of injuries. There has been research and studies done showing that injuries
and poorer performance will occur if there is on average less than eight hours of sleep a
night that a person is receiving. (1) Not only is sleep deprivation correlated with injuries
during sports, it can also be shown to happen in factories, and peoples everyday lives.
Objective.
This research project was intended to look at student athletes injuries that they
have developed as a college athlete that may have had a correlation to sleep deprivation.
Design.
The research project was conducted by an online survey through Survey Monkey.
The questionnaire consisted several demographic questions, and questions concerning
sleeping habits and injuries.
Setting.
The setting placement for this research project was on an online survey that was
sent via email to all fall varsity athletes at Emory & Henry College.
Patients or Other Participants.
Describe patients or other participants here. During this research project there
was a mixture of both male and female participants. These participants were selected
from all fall varsity athletes who participate in a sport at Emory & Henry College. There
were a total of 63 participants; 40 males, and 23 females. Majority of the percentage of
participants were Caucasian, seniors, and of the age of 21.

3
Intervention(s).
To figure out if there is a correlation between sleep deprivation and injuries in
athletes at Emory & Henry College, I used Survey Monkey to create a survey that I sent
out to the all fall varsity athletes at Emory & Henry College, and asked them questions
that pertaining to their amounts of sleep and number of injuries.
Main Outcome Measures.
The main outcome measure was to find out if there could possibly be a correlation
between sleep deprived athletes and injuries. Based off of the data that was collected fall
varsity athletes that attended and participated at Emory & Henry College would develop
injuries over a period of time. This could have happened if there were less than eight
hours of sleep a night on average a student athlete was receiving.
Results.
For this study, there were a total of 63 out of 155 varsity fall student athletes who
attend Emory & Henry College that participated in the research project. The participants
were given a 32-question questionnaire that took about three to five minutes to complete.
Out of the data that was collected there were around 68% of athletes that that participated
in the study have developed an injury while playing sports at Emory & Henry College.
Out of the 68% there were about 30 different injuries that had been stated. Out of the
participants that participated in this research project about 56% of the student athletes
were receiving around five to six hours of sleep each night, while only 3.23% were
getting more than eight hours of sleep.

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Conclusions.

5
Overall, this research provided evidence that sleep deprivation could be a reason
for injuries to occur more often. Participants expressed that they did not get
recommended sleep each night, and a great amount of participants stated that they
developed injuries. Although there were patterns shown through this research future
studies should be down. In the future studies the research should include more athletes to
participate. The future studies should also include information to coaches to allow them
to see that there could possibly be a correlation between sleep deprivation and injuries. To
allow there to be a higher participation rate, they should be an extended amount of time
to allow for the survey to be finished, and send out reminders to the participants about the
survey. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the senior athletic training students for helping me develop
the questionnaire, if it was not for Tayler Hale this topic would have never been thought
of. I would also like to thank Hannah Doss for helping get information to do a survey on
survey monkey. I would like to thank all fall varsity student athletes at Emory & Henry
College that participated in the research study. I would like to give a big thanks to Beth
Funkhouser who helped the senior class out so much with this research project. She
helped guide us throughout the entire semester and encouraged us throughout the entire
process.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract...........................................................................................................................ii-iv
Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................v
Table of contents...........................................................................................................vi-vii
Introduction..........................................................................................................................1
Methods...............................................................................................................................1
Subjects............................................................................................................................2
Instruments......................................................................................................................2
Testing procedures........................................................................................................2-3
Results..............................................................................................................................3-4
Discussion............................................................................................................................4
References............................................................................................................................5
Appendix A..........................................................................................................................6
Research question............................................................................................................6
Experimental hypotheses.................................................................................................6
Assumptions....................................................................................................................6
Limitations.......................................................................................................................6
Significance of the study.................................................................................................6
Appendix A: The Problem.............................................................................................7-12
Appendix B: Literature Review...................................................................................13-29
Appendix C: Additional Methods......................................................................................30
Appendix D: Recommendations for Future Research.......................................................30

7
Bibliography......................................................................................................................31

1
INTRODUCTION
Being able to play sports for about 16 years I have been able to see many injuries
occur throughout sports that I have participated in. As I go older and was able to play at
the high school varsity levels, and four years of college football has really opened my
eyes up on how important sleep is to athletes and their bodies.
I had decided to do this research project because I personally have had injuries
related to sleep deprivation. Over a period of time if an athlete is not able to get good
adequate amounts of sleep their body will began to not perform and not be able to react
like it should in certain situations. Injuries can range from muscle strains, pulls, and other
more serious injuries. As I conducted this project, and took time to analyze the data, I
noticed that sleep is a lot more important that people give credit for it. Sleep should be
one of the key elements athletes rely on to maximize their performance.
Not only is sleep key for athletes, but also as well as an employee for a company,
and just for everybody period. Good amounts of sleep will help a persons performance,
how they feel, and the way they react to many different things that they are faced with in
their everyday life.
METHODS
To figure out if there is a correlation between sleep deprivation and injuries in
athletes at Emory & Henry College, I used Survey Monkey to create a survey that I sent
out to the all fall varsity athletes at Emory & Henry College, and asked them questions
that pertaining to their amounts of sleep and number of injuries.

2
Subjects
The participants in this survey consisted of only fall varsity athletes that competed
for Emory & Henry College during the 2015 season. The athletes are from the football,
mens and womens soccer, and mens and womens cross country teams. First I emailed
the head coaches of each team informing them about the survey I would be sending out
and what the purpose was. I did this in enough time for them to inform their players that
they would be receiving this survey. Then I sent out the survey through Survey Monkey
to the selected participants.
Instruments
I was able to develop a group of questions that was related to sleep and the
persons participation in their sport. The questions that were asked can be seen below.
My questions consisted of short answer and yes or no questions.

Testing procedures
First, I developed a 32-item questionnaire that was sent out to the senior athletic
training students at Emory & Henry College. The questionnaire was developed on the
Survey Monkey website. The link to the survey is
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WHW6QJP. After reviewing the survey with the
athletic training students, we discussed how long the questionnaire had taken them to
complete and edits that I should make to the survey. Next, I made a list of all 2015 fall
varsity student athletes that participated at Emory & Henry College. I managed to send
out 155 emails to them asking them to take the survey and what the research project was
about. The survey included an informed consent on the first page. If participants agreed,

3
they were directed to the first question of the questionnaire. If students did not agree to
the informed consent, they were directed to the thank you page of the survey. I left the
survey open for two weeks and I was able to get a total of 63 participants.
RESULTS
There were 63 fall varsity student athletes from Emory & Henry College that
completed my online survey that measured several aspects of sleeping habits. Participants
were asked questions that included how much sleep they received each night, what time
they go to sleep at night, and if they have had an injury while participating in their
selected sport. They were given a 32-question questionnaire that took approximately
three to five minutes to complete. The questions were to determine patterns and trends in
sleep habits. The questions also determined if the injuries could possibly relate to sleep
deprivation. There were around 30 different injuries listed in the survey, which ranged in
severity from sprained ankles to torn labrums and rotator cuffs.
Out of the six teams that participated in the survey, the majority of participants
were from the football team. While analyzing the data, it showed that most of the
participants were seniors, white/Caucasian, male, and mostly were at the age of 21. The
data showed that 68% of the participants had experienced some type of injury throughout
their collegiate sport experience. As predicted, the amount of hours spent sleeping was
also lower than normally recommended by doctors. With recommended sleeping hours
being around eight hours, (1) on average a significant amount of the participants were
lacking in getting proper amounts of sleep. The results showed that out of the 63
participants 35 are getting five to six hours of sleep while 23 are getting seven to eight
hours of sleep each night. I also looked at the average time participants woke up and went

4
to sleep. It was found that roughly 80% of the participants typically wake up sometime
between 7:00AM and 10:00Am and roughly 98% go to sleep after 10:00PM.
DISCUSSION
The primary findings in this study were that sleep deprivation could potentially
have an impact on student athlete injuries. In support of my hypothesis, findings show
that a significant amount of athletes who have experienced injury are also not getting
proper amounts of sleep each night. A significant amount of participants thought that their
injuries correlated with the lack of sleep they were receiving at night.
Limitations to this study include having a small sample size of participants, a lack
of diversity, and a small participation rate from certain sports teams.
Even though my study was focused on sleep deprivation, I found a significant
trend in the preferred temperature at which most participants desire. Of the 63
participants, 55 prefer to sleep in a cool room versus a warm room. In the future, research
may look at how room temperature may have an impact on sleeping patterns. Future
research may also want to also look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and
injuries in spring sports. Overall, findings showed that sleep deprivation could potentially
play a role in the likelihood of experiencing an injury. This research supports the idea that
student athletes should avoid sleep deprivation if possible in order to play at their full
potential, and to remain as healthy as possible.

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REFERENCES

1. http://journals.lww.com/pedorthopaedics/Abstract/2014/03000/Chronic_Lack_of_
Sleep_is_Associated_With_Increased.1.aspx

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APPENDIX A
The Problem

Research question
Do injuries have a correlation to sleep deprivation?
Experimental hypotheses
I believe that there will be more injuries that occur due to the fact of sleep
deprivation.
Assumptions
I intend that people with lower amounts of sleep will have a higher chance of
developing injuries.
Limitations
Some limitations that I found to happen during this research project was the lack
of participation from the fall varsity athletes at Emory & Henry College. I also found
limitations in the participation rate from females at the school, along with other sports
teams other than football. One limitation that I found shocking was the lack of
participation rate from student athletes that are figured into the minority category.
Significance of the study
I found that a significant amount of athletes who have experienced injuries are
also not getting proper amounts of sleep each night. A significant amount of participants
thought that their injuries correlated with the lack of sleep they were receiving at night. A
trend was seen in the preferred temperature at which most participants desired.

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APPENDIX B
Literature Review
Introduction
Sleep deprivation is becoming a much more researched topic in todays society.
Though we often do not consider the consequences of poor sleep or the benefits of good
sleep, research has shown that our sleeping habits can have a big role in our everyday
functioning and performance in extracurricular activities. Without good quality sleep,
individuals are less likely to succeed in achieving their goals. Research has shown that
sleep is one of the number one keys in a persons performance.
Within the realm of athletics, a large emphasis has been placed on sleep, with
much focused discussion going on the topic. Coaches are pushing their athletes to get the
sleep they need to meet the expectations that are anticipated. Not only in athletics, but
also in schools and in the workforce, the amount of sleep a student or employee gets is
rather important. The purpose of this literature review is to discuss recent research that
discusses the topics on sleep, such as the importance of sleep, different types of sleep
complications, injuries that occur from the lack of sleep, and the physical and
psychological effects of sleep deprivation.
Importance of Sleep
The importance of sleep is vital for the human body. Sleep is one of the most
important techniques for the body to function at a high level, and needs to be focused on
in a persons everyday lifestyle. Sleep is important in many ways. It can help a person
feel healthier, help them perform to their maximum capability, and it can play a big factor
in daily attitude and personality. Sleep can also help with a persons behavior, and how

8
they can react and adjust to certain situations that develop during their life. People who
make getting good quality sleep a priority, are said to live longer lives.(1) A person that is
lacking in the amount of sleep they get can develop neuroticism. Neuroticism labels
individuals who are emotionally reactive, and tend to develop more negative emotions
like anxiety, hostility, nervousness, and depression. (1) Sleep is extremely important to a
persons lifestyle because poor quality of sleep can increase the chances of the
development of obesity and diabetes.
Different Types of Sleep Disorders
The importance of sleep is crucial to a persons health and performance. However,
some people cannot control their sleep because of different types of sleeping disorders.
People may not realize, but everyone at some point in their life, has been affected by at
least one type of sleep disorder. (2)
The American Psychiatric Association stated that, sleeping disorders are a major
disturbance of normal sleep patterns that lead to distress and disrupt daily function. (2) A
survey was conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, and according to this study,
more than half of Americans reported that they had experienced at least one symptom of
insomnia, several times a week during the previous year. (2)
Insomnia
There are five major types of sleep disorders that people experience most often.
The most common is Insomnia. (2) Insomnia is said to affect close to 60 percent of U.S.
adults at least one night a week. (2). Insomnia is defined as the inability to sleep.

9
Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is the second most common sleeping disorder. Sleep Apnea affects
approximately 20 million Americans. This disorder causes people to stop breathing
abruptly while they are asleep. During this brief period, carbon dioxide builds up in the
blood and the sleeper wakes suddenly to gasp for breath. The length of time that the
sleeper stops breathing can vary from a few seconds to so long that the individuals skin
actually turns blue from oxygen deprivation.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is the third most common sleeping disorder. This disorder may cause
an individual to abruptly fall asleep for a short period of time during the daytime. This
can happen when a person may be working, socializing, or even operating a motorized
vehicle. Narcolepsy typically begins during adolescence, and is said to affect as many as
a quarter of a million people in the United States. (2)
Sleepwalking and Night Terrors are the fourth and fifth most common sleep
disorders. These disorders are seen more in younger individuals ranging from the ages of
two to six, but can also be seen in older persons. (2) Sleepwalking is simply a person
getting up while still asleep and walking around. Night terror symptoms involve extreme
night sweating, shaking, and fear. (2)
Injuries That Occur From The Lack of Sleep
Studies have shown that the lack of sleep a person gets can result in an increased
chance of developing an injury. Being around athletics my entire life, I have seen injuries
related to the lack of sleep. An athlete has nearly twice the chance of developing an injury
if they have poor quality of sleep. According to the article Chronic lack of sleep is

10
associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes, student athletes that
sleep an average of less than eight hours a night are 1.7 times more likely to develop an
injury compared to student athletes who sleep, on average, more than eight hours of sleep
a night. (3) Injuries that can occur from the lack of sleep can vary from many different
things. The first injury that comes to mind when I think of sleep deprived athletes are
pulled/strained muscles. The lack of oxygen that the body can produce and send to the
muscles in the body can cause the body to fatigue at a much higher rate, which causes the
muscles to be more prevalent to injury. Concussions are also more likely to occur if an
athlete is not getting the proper amount of sleep.
Along with injuries, lack of sleep can increase the chances for a person to develop
heart disease, heart attacks, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, stroke,
and, as mentioned before, diabetes. (4) Not only does lack of sleep have increased effects
on athletics, but also in the workforce. Individuals who regularly work late-night,
graveyard shifts have been injured multiple times due to lack of sleep. Individuals
working with heavy machinery not only experience increased risk of injuries, but worse,
an increased risk of accidents leading to death. In the article Short duration of sleep and
unintentional injuries among adolescents in China, workers were two times more likely
to experience a work-related injury if they were getting, on average, less than seven hours
of sleep. (5)
A lot more work related injuries are seen in foreign countries because they do not
have work labor laws. That being said, forcefully making young adolescents work long
hours with minimal amounts of sleep, can greatly increase the chances of serious injuries
or even death occurring.

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Physical and Psychological Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of injuries during performance, but more
importantly, it can increase the negative effects on our bodies drastically. The lack of
sleep over a long period of time can affect our central nervous system, immune system,
respiratory system, digestive system, and our cardiovascular system. In the article The
Effects of Sleep Deprivation on the Body, it stated that, there are 16 different effects that
the lack of sleep can have on the body.
Accidental death, yawning, impaired brain activity, cognitive dysfunction,
memory problems, moodiness, hallucinations, depression, micro sleep, accident prone,
weakened immune response, cold and flu, weight gain, high blood pressure, and type 2
diabetes are the 16 affects on the body that are more likely to happen if there is sleep
deprivation. (6)
In children and adolescents, hormones that promote growth are released during
sleep. These hormones help build muscle mass, as well as make repairs to cells and
tissues. Sleep is vital to development during puberty. When a person is getting low
amounts of sleep it can cause them to have an unstable emotional state. When this begins
to happen, it can affect the bodys defenses system. (6)
With decreased amounts of sleep, a person may develop an increased risk of drugs
and alcohol consumption. This magnifies the chances of people developing injuries,
being involved in accidents, and/or potential death happening. When an individual begins
to rely on drugs or alcohol because of lack of sleep, the immune system begins to deplete.
Unwanted bacteria and viruses begin to over take the body, and can make the person very
sick.

12
Studies have shown that sleeping less than five hours a night can increase the risk
of death from drugs/alcohol by about 15 percent. (6) Sleep is very important to the central
nervous system. The less sleep a person receives on average is more likely to cause that
person to have a shorter temper and mood swings. (6)
Summary
In this review, I have discussed the importance of quality sleep, as well as the
negative effects of sleep deprivation. The research that has been done on sleep
deprivation and injuries goes on and on about how important sleep can be to the human
body. Not only can sleep deprivation affect the individual person, it can also affect those
surrounding the person. Millions of people are affected with sleep deprivation everyday,
and every night. It affects the performance in their everyday life. There are many more
studies being developed, and that will continue to be created, in order to help fight
against and cause awareness of sleep deprivation. Continuing to find more research about
sleep deprivation leading to injuries will be always in researchers and scientists interest.
Having a better understanding on the effects of sleep deprivation, allows the opportunity
to inform and teach others about the overall importance of sleep on the human body.

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APPENDIX C
Additional methods

Insert tables for:Emory & Henry College

IRB APPROVAL FORM

(This form is Federally

auditable and must be

Review #______
Date Received _________

typed.)

APPLICATION FOR PROJECT APPROVAL

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION

I.

TITLE OF PROJECT: Lack of sleep and Injury Risk in College Athletes at a

NCAA DIII Liberal Arts College

II.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(s) and/or CO-PI(s): (For student projects, list

both the student and the advisor.)

Name:

Ryan Byrd

Address:

30461 Garnand Dr, Emory, Virginia 24327 #561

Telephone:

(540) 435-7842

14

E-Mail:

III.

rbyrd12@ehc.edu

FACULTY ADVISOR

Name:

Beth Funkhouser, MEd, ATC, VATL, CSCS

Address:

AT Depot 103
PO Box 947
Emory, VA 24327

Telephone:

276.944.6590

E-Mail:

bfunkhouser@ehc.edu

Signature of Faculty Advisor:

_____________________________________________

IV.

DEPARTMENT:

Athletic Training

V.

PROJECT PERIOD: 9/15-12/15

15
VI.

FUNDING SOURCE (If any): None

VII.

LOCATION WHERE STUDY WILL BE CONDUCTED: King Center, Emory

& Henry College

VIII.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: I am going to do a survey on fall athletes to

determine if they think the amount of sleep an athlete gets can cause an injury(s).
I wanted to do this because I have seen many injuries this past season, and being
an injured athlete I think the lack of sleep correlates to injuries having a higher
chance of occurring.

IX.

PARTICIPANTS:

Number: 130-160

Ages: 18-24

Gender: Male & Female

Methods to be used in recruiting participants: Sending out survey to all fall

varsity athletes at Emory & Henry College

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Criteria to be used in selecting participants: A fall varsity athlete at Emory &
Henry College

METHOD AND PROCEDURE:

During this study, I will be giving out an online

survey to all fall varsity athletes. I will look up the rosters of the fall sports teams, and
send out an online survey through email to the varsity athletes. I will find out how many
student athletes each team has, and hand them out to the coaches to give out to their team.
I chose this format because being around athletes here at Emory & Henry College; more
athletes get injured that are on the varsity teams. I will give the each team one to two
weeks to complete the survey. I will pull the data collection from surveymonkey.com and
use Microsoft Excel to enter the data into SPSS.

XI.

A.

Are there any aspects of the study kept secret from the participants?

__X_No ___ Yes

B.

Will participants be recorded on video or audiotaped?

__X_No ___ Yes

17
C.

Will participants be recorded without their knowledge?

__X_No ___ Yes

(If yes, include a post-experiment release form offering the participants
the option of having their tape erased.)

XII.

RISKS AND BENEFITS OF RESEARCH, ACCESS TO MATERIALS, AND

INFORMED CONSENT:
A.

What are the possible physical or psychological risks and hazards for the
participants?

B.

What will you do to protect participants from these hazards or risks?

C.

None anticipated from participation in study.

No identifying markers will be collected

How will you obtain informed consent from the participants and/or
parents? Attach a copy of your Informed Consent Agreement. Please
include all of the headings included on the sample agreement.

Participants will sign Informed consent prior to taking the

survey.

D.

How will you protect the confidentiality of your participants (Check one)
__X___Identifying names or numbers will not be collected (Data are
anonymous).

18
_____Codes will be used on data; the list linking codes to personal
identifiers will be kept secure (Data are confidential).
_____Other: Please describe:

E.

Will participants be debriefed? _X__No ____ Yes (Attach a copy of your

Debriefing Statement).

F.

What benefits can reasonably be expected from the study?

Potentially identifying a link between lack of sleep and

injuries in fall sports at this institution.

The athletic training community will be able to inform their

athletes about how important sleep is, and this hopefully
can keep fewer athletes from developing injuries that can
be related to sleep depravation.

G.

Where will data materials be kept?

Digitally secured and shared only with my research team

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CERTIFICATION: The research described herein is in compliance with 45 CFR 46
101(b) and presents subjects with no more than minimal risk as defined by applicable
regulations.
[X] Expedited Review
Or
[ ] Full IRB Review

Principal
Investigator

Advisor

Ryan Byrd, ATS

________________

Name

Signature

Beth Funkhouser, MEd, ATC

Date__________

______________________Date__________

Name

Signature

Committee Member 1 A. Celeste Gaia, Ph.D.

Name

______________________Date__________
Signature

Committee Member 2 Chris Qualls, Ph. D. _____________________ Date__________

Name

Campus Review

Ben Letson, Ph. D.

Name

Signature

_________________________Date__________
Signature

20
Outside Review

Jill Compton, Ph. D.

Name

______________________Date__________
Signature

APPROVED:
Coordinator of
Compliances Kimberly Reed, Ph.D.
Name

Date__________
Signature

21

INFORMED CONSENT AGREEMENT

______________________________________________________________________________________
_

Please read this agreement carefully before you decide whether to participate in this study.

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to see if there is a correlation with
injuries and sleep depravation.
What you will do in this study: You will complete a survey on your activity and sleep
habits.
Time required: One session of 5-10 minutes to complete the online survey.
Risks: None
Benefits: Become more aware of sleep deprivation and injuries, and a possible way of
helping prevent injuries as well.
Confidentiality: Anonymous Survey
Voluntary Participation:
Your participation in the study is completely voluntary.

Right to withdraw from the study:

You may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Please inform the
researcher if you choose to not participate.
Payment:
You will receive no payment from participation in this study. There will also be no costs
incurred.

22
By signing below, you admit that you have read and understood the explanation of this
study and agree to participate. At your request you will receive a copy of this form for
your records.

Signature

Date

*********************************************************************

Please tear off the bottom of this sheet to keep for your records:

Who to contact if you have questions about the study:

If you have any questions about the research, either now or later, please contact the
principal investigator, Ryan Byrd @, (540) 435-7842, or rbyrd12@ehc.edu. Or you may
contact the project advisor, Beth Funkhouser, Emory & Henry College, AT Depot 103, by
phone at 276.944.6590 or bfunkhouser@ehc.edu.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WHW6QJP

23
Questionnaires
2. Age
a. 18
b. 19
c. 20
d. 21
e. 22
f. 23
g. 24
h. 25+
3. Sex
a. Male
b. Female
c. Other (please specify)___________________
4. Race
a. White/Caucasian
b. Black/African-American
c. Hispanic
d. Asian
e. Other (please specify)________________
5. Class Status
a. First Year
b. Sophomore

24
c. Junior
d. Senior
e. Graduate/Masters Student
6. Major
7. GPA
a. 3.5-4.0
b. 3.0-3.4
c. 2.5-2.9
d. 2.0-2.4
e. Below 2.0
8. Sport Participation
a. Volleyball
b. Football
c. Womens Soccer
d. Mens Soccer
e. Mens Cross Country
f. Womens Cross Country
9. How many years have you played a college level sport
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 4+

25
10. Have you had an injury while participating in your collegiate sport
a. Yes
b. No
c. If yes, explain__________________
11. Do you think the lack of sleep/rest could have played a factor in your injury
a. Yes
b. No
c. I have not had an injury while participating in my collegiate sport
12. On average, how many hours of sleep do you get at night?
a. 1-2
b. 3-4
c. 5-6
d. 7-8
e. 9-10
f. 10+
13. On average, what time do you go to sleep at night?
a. Before 8:00PM
b. 8:00-9:59PM
c. 10:00-11:59PM
d. 12:00AM or Later
14. Do you normally take a nap during the day?
a. Yes
b. No

26
c. Sometimes
15. Do you find yourself falling asleep in class?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
16. How do you prefer your room to feel while you sleep?
a. Cool
b. Warm
c. I do not have a preference
17. Do you sleep with the TV on?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
18. Do you sleep with music on?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
19. Do you sleep with your cell phone close to you at night?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
20. Do you normally sleep in the dark?
a. Yes

27
b. No
c. Sometimes
21. Do you typically sleep with a night light on?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
22. Do you sleep with a fan on?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
23. Do you usually sleep with someone else in your bed?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
24. Do you have a roommate?
a. Yes
b. No
c. If yes, do they typically have someone else sleeping with them
25. Do you take any medications to help you fall asleep at night?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes
26. How do you typically get to sleep at night?

28
a. I read
b. I watch TV
c. I listen to the radio
d. I play video games
e. I take medications
f. I consume alcohol and/or drugs
g. I just fall asleep
27. How do you normally fall asleep at night?
a. Left side
b. Right side
c. Back
d. Stomach
28. On average how many times a night do you find yourself waking up to use the
bathroom?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
e. 3+
29. Do you wake up in the middle of night to eat/drink?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Sometimes

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30. Do you dream at night? If so, how often?
a. I do not dream at night
b. Occasionally
c. Once, maybe twice a week
d. Once, maybe twice a month
e. Every night
f. If yes, how many times a week? _____________
31. How are you typically woken up in the morning?
a. Naturally
b. By a family member/partner
c. Alarm clock/phone
d. Things going on outside
e. Other (please specify) ____________
32. What time do you normally wake up?
a. Before 5:00AM
b. 5:00-6:59AM
c. 7:00-9:59AM
d. Later than 10:00AM

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APPENDIX D
Recommendations for Future Research
I believe that this research should be extended into the spring semester to get a
bigger participation rate, and to see if the results remain the same. I would like for this
research to be able to extend its way into the high levels of competition to the Division I
and Division II levels of competition. Not only would I like to further the research to that
level of competition, but to public universities/colleges as well. I would recommend
coaches, teachers, and administration leaders to look at research related to sleep
deprivation having a correlation to injuries.
If further studies and research can be done, I recommend that there should be
specific sports; regions of the country, and other professions other than sports are tied
into this study. I would recommend that coaches, teachers, administration leaders, and
employers that they develop some time of education program to give knowledge of how
important sleep really is to the human body, and the bodies performance levels.
I would recommend that the coaches of the football, volleyball, mens and
womens soccer, and mens and womens cross country teams look at this research
project. If they do this they might have a better understanding of why certain injuries may
have happened, and why certain injuries keep reoccurring.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b858e1e0-d6d2-46efa838-fedf749757c1%40sessionmgr111&vid=4&hid=121
2. http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/sleep_disorders.htm?
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Sleep_is_Associated_With_Increased.1.aspx
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6. http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body