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Associations of objectively assessed sleep and physical activity in 11-year old children

Maroje Sorić1, Gregor Starc, Katarina T Borer

  • 1Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb , Croatia .

Annals of Human Biology
|July 11, 2014
PubMed

Insights

This study found no direct link between children's average sleep duration and physical activity levels. However, spending more time in bed was associated with reduced physical activity and energy expenditure the next day.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Science
  • Childhood Physical Activity Research
  • Behavioral Pediatrics

Background:

  • Understanding the relationship between sleep and physical activity in children is crucial for public health.
  • Previous research suggests potential links, but objective data in diverse populations is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between objective measures of sleep (duration, efficiency) and physical activity in children.
  • To test if lower sleep quantity/quality correlates with reduced physical activity.
  • To examine if sleep changes predict subsequent physical activity levels.

Main Methods:

  • An observational, multi-center study involving 276 children (aged 10.5-12 years) from urban settings in Croatia, Slovenia, and the US.
  • Sleep and physical activity were objectively monitored for 2-6 days using the Sensewear Armband™ multi-sensor body monitor.

Main Results:

  • No significant association was found between average sleep duration/efficiency and overall physical activity levels.
  • An increase of one hour in time spent in bed was followed by a 16-minute decrease in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
  • This reduction in activity corresponded to a significant decrease in total daily energy expenditure in both boys and girls.

Conclusions:

  • The study did not find evidence supporting a link between chronically short sleep and lower physical activity in children.
  • Short-term increases in time spent in bed may lead to reduced physical activity and energy expenditure the following day.
Abstract

Keywords:
Adolescenceinactivitymulti-level modellingshort sleep

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