Associations between Neighborhood Context, Physical Activity, and Sleep in Adolescents

This study examined how neighborhood access to recreation facilities and physical activity are linked to multiple indices of adolescent sleep. Physical activity was also assessed as a mediator of the association between access to recreation facilities and sleep.

The study used a cross-sectional design and path modeling analysis techniques.

Participants were recruited from small towns and semi-rural communities in Alabama.

Participants were 231 adolescents (55% female) with an average age of 16.75 years (SD = .81). Sixty-seven percent of the youth were European American and 33% were African American. The sample was socioeconomically diverse with more than a third of participants living at or below the poverty line and less than half from middle class families.

Adolescent neighborhood access to recreation facilities and physical activity were assessed via self-report. Sleep minutes, efficiency, and schedule were measured using actigraphy.

Access to recreation facilities was associated with more sleep minutes and later morning wake time, as well as a trend towards increased sleep efficiency. Access to recreation facilities was also linked to more physical activity, and physical activity was related to more sleep minutes, later wake time, and less wake time variability. Physical activity was a mediating and intervening link between access to recreation facilities and these sleep parameters.

Findings implicate physical activity as one mechanism linking neighborhood context to adolescent sleep. The results suggest that establishing more neighborhood opportunities for physical activity may have cascading effects on multiple aspects of adolescent physical health.