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Lack of Sleep Makes Child Athletes More Likely to Get Injured

By CBC, 09/23/19, 1:30PM PDT

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According to the World Sleep Society, the risk of injury increases by up to 70 per cent when young athletes get less than eight hours of sleep. 

On a rainy weekend morning, Joanna Mustovitch braces against the cold along with the other parents at the 8 Rinks Arena in Burnaby, B.C. 

Mustovitch has sacrificed her Sunday to bring her 13-year-old son here to play house league hockey, to support his dream of one day becoming a professional player. 

And as part of her efforts, every night at 9:30 p.m. Mustovitch gathers all of her son's electronics to make sure he gets a good night's sleep. 

"Once he has no distractions and gets to sleep he's fine," she said. "At this age, I don't think he cares enough about being a good athlete to want to stop the electronics."