[Physical activity and sleep in Icelandic adolescents]

Physical activity and sleep are major determinants of overall health. According to international recommendations, adolescents should engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 min each day and sleep eight to ten hours each night. The association between physical activity and sleep in adolescents is not well known. The aim of the study was to estimate a) the proportion of Icelandic adolescents that achieves recommended physical activity and sleep, b) if there is an association between physical activity and sleep patterns, and c) sex differences in physical activity and sleep.

A total of 411 adolescents from the 10th grade in six schools in Reykjavik were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study in the spring of 2015. Valid data was obtained from 106 boys and 160 girls. Objective and subjective measures of physical activity and sleep were made by wrist-worn accelerometers and a questionnaire.

Almost half of the participants fulfilled the physical activity recommendations according to the questionnaire. Although 51.1% reported usually getting enough sleep, only 22.9% achieved the recommended sleep length according to objective assessment. No associations were observed between sleep and subjective physical activity. Girls had higher accelerometer-measured physical activity than boys on non-school days (p<0.01), but weekly averages were not different between sexes. Girls and boys did not differ in subjective or objective measures of sleep.

The behavior of Icelandic adolescents does not reflect recommended amount of sleep and physical activity. Only 22.9% obtained the recommended sleep length and just 11.3% fulfilled recommendations of both sleep and physical activity.