Using big data to explore worldwide trends in objective sleep in the transition to adulthood

Area of Science:

• Sleep Science
• Chronobiology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Sleep patterns undergo significant changes during development and aging.
• Adolescent maturation involves a later shift in circadian rhythm, affecting sleep timing.
• These developmental sleep changes are globally observed but may not persist into adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate developmental changes in sleep duration, timing, and social jetlag.
• To compare sleep patterns across different age groups and global regions.
• To examine sex differences in sleep duration and timing during adolescence and young adulthood.

Main Methods:

• Utilized accelerometer data from 17,355 participants aged 16-30 years.
• Collected data using validated Polar wearables over a 14-day period.
• Analyzed sleep duration, chronotype (sleep midpoint), and social jetlag across 242,948 nights.

Main Results:

• Observed a decline in sleep duration and a significant shift towards later sleep onset times through adolescence into early adulthood.
• Sleep duration decreased from 7:53 hours at age 16 to 7:29 hours at age 30.
• Females exhibited longer sleep duration and earlier sleep timing compared to males; regional sleep differences were also noted.

Conclusions:

• Sleep duration and timing exhibit a distinct developmental trajectory, especially in early adulthood.
• Females generally experience earlier sleep midpoints and obtain more sleep than males.
• Significant regional variations in sleep patterns exist globally.