Bidirectional, Daily Temporal Associations between Sleep and Physical Activity in Adolescents

Abstract

This study evaluated the daily, temporal associations between sleep and daytime physical activity and sedentary behavior among adolescents from the Fragile Families & Child Wellbeing Study. A sub-sample of the cohort at age 15 (N = 417) wore actigraphy monitors for one week during the school year from which we derived daily minutes in sedentary and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and nighttime sleep measures. Multilevel models tested temporal associations of nightly sleep onset, offset, duration, and sleep maintenance efficiency, with daily MVPA and sedentary behavior. More MVPA than an individual’s average was associated with earlier sleep onset (p < 0.0001), longer duration (p = 0.03), and higher sleep maintenance efficiency (p < 0.0001). On days with more sedentary behavior than an individual’s average, sleep onset and offset were delayed (p < 0.0001), duration was shorter (p < 0.0001), and sleep maintenance efficiency was higher (p = 0.0005). Conversely, nights with earlier sleep onset predicted more next-day sedentary behavior (p < 0.0001), and nights with later sleep offset and longer sleep duration were associated with less MVPA (p < 0.0001) and less sedentary time (p < 0.0001, p = 0.004) the next day. These bidirectional associations between sleep and physical activity suggest that promoting MVPA may help to elicit earlier bedtimes, lengthen sleep duration, and increase sleep efficiency, critical for healthy adolescent development.

Examining the day-to-day bidirectional associations between physical activity, sedentary behavior, screen time, and sleep health during school days in adolescents

“…In another study investigating temporal associations between sleep and PA in children demonstrated that greater PA was negatively associated with objectively measured sleep health parameters, including shorter sleep durations and lower sleep efficiency [17]. Researchers of this study found that better sleep health parameters on a previous night were associated with lower PA the next day, which is aligned with the findings from the recent epidemiological studies [18,19]. Such contradictory findings regarding the potential roles of PA on sleep health among adolescents have left knowledge gaps in the literature and require further investigation to elucidate their relationships.…”

“…It has been frequently reported that PA leads to better sleep in adolescents. For instance, a recent observational study of 417 adolescents demonstrated that greater MVPA in a day is associated with longer sleep duration and greater sleep efficiency [18]. Their results are also aligned with a recent experimental study showing that a 12-week supervised exercise program consisting of aerobic and resistance training weekly improved sleep duration and sleep efficiency in adolescents [46].…”

Effects of sedentary behavior and physical activity on sleep quality in older people: A cross‐sectional study

“…First, the cross‐sectional design limited our conclusions because we could not determine causality. However, some previous studies found bidirectional relationships between sleep quality parameters and PA (Master et al, ). Second, the isotemporal substitution model yielded statistical estimates that did not reflect the actual replacement of one activity with another.…”

Association between objectively measured walking steps and sleep in community-dwelling older adults: A prospective cohort study

“…However, the association between daily walking steps and sleep parameters has not been clarified in our previous study. A growing body of evidence has shown an association between sleep and physical function or activity [ 8 , 9 ]. Poor sleep quality is associated with physical inactivity and physical disability [ 10 , 11 ], whereas regular physical activity is important for improving the sleep quality [ 12 ].…”