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Effect of experimental change in children's sleep duration on television viewing and physical activity
C N Hart1, N Hawley2, A Davey3
1Center for Obesity Research and Education, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.
Insights
Reducing sleep in children increases television viewing and lowers daytime activity. While more awake time may offset some effects, increased sedentary behavior from short sleep could lead to weight gain.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Science
- Childhood Activity Patterns
- Sedentary Behavior Research
Background:
- Observational studies link sleep duration, television viewing, and activity levels in children.
- Understanding the causal relationship between sleep and daytime behaviors is crucial for child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the impact of altered sleep duration on children's physical and sedentary activities.
- To determine if manipulating sleep affects children's engagement in physical activity and screen time.
Main Methods:
- A within-subject, counterbalanced design was employed with 37 children aged 8-11 years over three weeks.
- Participants experienced one week of typical sleep, followed by one week of increased (1.5 hours/night) and one week of decreased sleep, in a randomized order.
- Objective activity data were collected using wrist-worn actigraphs, supplemented by 3-day physical activity recalls.
Main Results:
- Decreased sleep was associated with significantly higher television viewing (p < 0.001).
- Children showed lower daytime activity counts per epoch when sleep was reduced (p = 0.03).
- Total activity counts over the entire waking period were higher with decreased sleep due to longer wakefulness (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- Short sleep duration in childhood may promote increased sedentary behaviors like television viewing and reduce overall physical activity.
- While increased wakefulness might partially mitigate negative effects, the rise in sedentary activities associated with insufficient sleep poses a risk for long-term weight gain.
- Experimental manipulation of sleep provides insights into the direct effects on children's daily routines and health behaviors.
Background:
Paediatric observational studies demonstrate associations between sleep, television viewing and potential changes in daytime activity levels.
Objective(S):
To determine whether experimental changes in sleep lead to changes in children's sedentary and physical activities.
Methods:
Using a within-subject counterbalanced design, 37 children 8-11 years old completed a 3-week study. Children slept their typical amount during a baseline week and were then randomized to increase or decrease mean time in bed by 1.5 h/night for 1 week; the alternate schedule was completed the final week. Children wore actigraphs on their non-dominant wrist and completed 3-d physical activity recalls each week.
Results:
Children reported watching more television (p < 0.001) and demonstrated lower daytime actigraph-measured activity counts per epoch (p = 0.03) when sleep was decreased (compared with increased). However, total actigraph-measured activity counts accrued throughout the entire waking period were higher when sleep was decreased (and children were awake for longer) than when it was increased (p < 0.001).
Conclusion(S):
Short sleep during childhood may lead to increased television viewing and decreased mean activity levels. Although additional time awake may help to counteract negative effects of short sleep, increases in reported sedentary activities could contribute to weight gain over time.
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