Associations Between 24 h Movement Behaviours and Cognitive Abilities in Slovak Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Twenty-four-hour movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep) may be associated with adolescent cognitive performance, but evidence from Central/Eastern Europe is limited.

A total of 82 Slovak adolescents (15-19 years) completed tests of IQ, attention, and visual memory. Participants wore a wrist accelerometer 24/7 for seven consecutive days (processed in GGIR v3.0-3). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), total sedentary time, and sleep duration were derived from accelerometry; physical activity was also self-reported using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A). Non-parametric tests and Spearman correlations were applied; sleep × MVPA interaction models (robust HC3 standard errors) were adjusted for age and sex.

MVPA was low (median 32.9 min/day; 11% met ≥60 min/day), while sedentary time was high (median 652.6 min/day). Associations between movement behaviours and cognition were generally small, and no sleep × MVPA interaction effects were observed. The PAQ-A overestimated device-based MVPA (mean bias +1.68 units; 95% limits of agreement +1.10 to +2.25), with greater overestimation in girls and older adolescents.

In this convenience sample, 24 h movement patterns were suboptimal, and their associations with cognition were modest and exploratory. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings.