Sleep, nutrition, hydration and rest

Training and practice preparation have long received attention as the largest factors for injury prevention. While proper training and practice programs are a crucial component of injury prevention, they only represent a piece of a larger puzzle. External factors outside of training and practice such as sleep, nutrition, hydration, and rest are equally important for injury prevention due to athletes spending a majority of their day outside of their sport. These external factors have been shown to have powerful effects relating to injury epidemiology. They have also been shown to have major effects on the body’s autonomic and hormonal regulation systems. Due to athletes spending a majority of their day outside of training and practice, it is necessary that equal importance be given to external factors outside of sport, especially in regards to sleep, nutrition, hydration, and rest for optimal injury prevention strategies.