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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
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Later sleep timing predicts accelerated summer weight gain among elementary school children: a prospective

Jennette P Moreno1, Javad Razjouyan2,3,4, Houston Lester2,5

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. palcic@bcm.edu.

The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
|July 12, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Later sleep times in summer are linked to increased child body mass index (BMI). Promoting outdoor time during the school-year and earlier sleep in summer may help prevent childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Sleep Science
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Children's sleep patterns and circadian rhythms are influenced by school-year and summer environments.
  • Understanding these shifts is crucial for addressing potential health impacts like changes in body mass index (BMI).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate differences in children's sleep and circadian behaviors between school-year and summer periods.
  • To explore the association between sleep/circadian parameters and BMI changes in children across these distinct periods.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective observational study with 119 children (ages 5-8) in Houston, Texas.
  • Wrist-worn accelerometry used to assess sleep midpoint, duration, variability, physical activity, and light exposure.
  • Growth curve modeling analyzed the impact of sleep, activity, and light on BMI changes, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

  • Children's sleep midpoint shifted 1.5 hours later during summer compared to the school-year.
  • Later summer sleep midpoints predicted increased BMI (γ=.0004, p=.03), while school-year sleep did not.
  • Outdoor light exposure during the school-year predicted smaller BMI increases (γ=-.01, p=.02); no significant associations found for sleep duration or variability.

Conclusions:

  • Obesity prevention strategies may need to be tailored to in-school versus out-of-school periods.
  • Promoting outdoor time during the school-year and earlier sleep during summer are potential obesity prevention tactics.
Abstract

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