Daily sleep and physical activity from accelerometry in adults: Temporal associations and lag effects

Insufficient sleep is linked to various health issues, while physical activity is a protective measure against chronic diseases. Despite the importance of sleep and physical activity for supporting public health, there remains scant research investigating daily and cumulative associations between objectively measured physical activity and sleep. Understanding the associations of physical activity and sleep behaviors over multiple days may inform the efficacy of interventions to synergistically support both behaviors.

Data were from the Community of Mine study (N=367 with complete data). Participants wore ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers on their wrist and hip for 14days. Sleep was defined as total sleep time (h/night), wakefulness after sleep onset (min), and sleep efficiency (%). Moderate to vigorous physical activity was defined as ≥760 counts per minute. Mixed-effects linear models with distributed lag effects, adjusted for age, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, body mass index, education, smoking, and residence type, investigated the effect of sleep on prospective moderate to vigorous physical activity (and moderate to vigorous physical activity on prospective sleep): on the same or previous day, 2-day lag, and 3-day lag.

An increase in same day, 2-day lag, and 3-day lag moderate to vigorous physical activity was associated with decreased total sleep time. Moderate to vigorous physical activity was not associated with sleep efficiency or wakefulness after sleep onset. An increase in same day and 3-day lag of total sleep time was associated with decreased moderate to vigorous physical activity. An increase in 3-day lag sleep efficiency was associated with decreased moderate to vigorous physical activity. wakefulness after sleep onset was not associated with moderate to vigorous physical activity.

These insights contribute to understanding the dynamic interplay between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sleep in adults, highlighting same day and cumulative associations.