The Importance of Burnout for Athletes’ Health

What is it about?

This study addresses whether burnout in athletes is related to changes in their health over time. We followed a group of athletes over approximately six months and measured burnout and health on multiple occasions. Our analyses showed that burnout predicted increased depressive symptoms. We also found some reverse effects where sleep problems and lower life satisfaction predicted increased burnout over time.

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Photo by leah hetteberg on Unsplash

Photo by leah hetteberg on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The World Health Organisation considers burnout to be important to health, however, the relationship between burnout and health has not been studied often in sport. Our study showed that burnout might increase the risk for depression and in doing so highlights the need for burnout to be addressed through prevention and intervention programmes. The findings also demonstrated that sleep and satisfaction might lower the risk for burnout and could therefore be a potential avenue for preventative strategies against burnout.