Movement behaviors in short versus adequate nocturnal sleepers: A compositional analysis of preschoolers

Abstract

Background: Accruing adequate daily amounts of time spent on movement behaviors (physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep) in childhood has been associated with positive short and long-term health outcomes.Nonetheless, how waking time is distributed across PA and SB among preschoolers who are short and adequate sleepers at night is unknown. Aim: This study investigated: (1) if there are differences in a movement behaviors composition among adequate and short nocturnal sleepers; and (2) the association between preschoolers' time spent in PA, SB, and sleep among adequate and short nocturnal sleepers. Methods: A total of 270 preschoolers (132 boys; 3.97 ± 0.81 years old; 15.48 ± 1.62 kg/m 2 ) participated in this study. PA and SB were assessed using accelerometry (model wGT3X). Sleep duration was assessed through a parental-proxy interview, and preschoolers were stratified as short and adequate sleepers, according to attendance to international sleep duration guidelines. Compositional data analysis was used to explore the time-use patterns of behaviors among adequate and short sleepers.Results: Short sleepers spent 64 min less time asleep, accumulated 32 min in more sedentary time (p = .005, Cohen's d = 0.36, Bayes Factor: 6.17), and 24 min more in light PA (p = .0005, Cohen's d = 0.44, Bayes Factor: 46.37) compared to adequate sleepers.Conclusions: Being a short sleeper was associated with greater time spent in SB and light PA during their waking hours. The health implications of movement behaviors composition among short sleep preschoolers should be further investigated. | INTRODUCTIONAccruing adequate amounts of time spent on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep in childhood has been associated with positive short and longterm health outcomes (Carson et al., 2017;Carson et al., 2019). PA, SB, and sleep are movement behaviors that comprise a movement continuum that children are engaged in during 24 h (Tremblay et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (2020) recommends that 3 and 4 years-old preschoolers should accumulate 180 min of total PA, with at least 60 min of moderate-tovigorous-physical activity (MVPA), no more than 60 min in screen time during the day, and adequate sleep

Paths towards a healthier BMI among short and adequate sleepers: A pathway network analysis considering movement behaviors in low‐income preschoolers

“…Indeed, since early ages, boys are culturally more exposed to moderate‐vigorous intense activities, that are associated with a better sleep quantity and quality (Ghrouz et al, 2019; Janssen et al, 2020; Kredlow et al, 2015), preventing the excessive weight gain during this age. Moreover, those that remain sleeping for longer periods, are less likely to excessive food intake (Poggiogalle et al, 2016), and are also more likely to be engaged in PA along the day (Gába et al, 2020; Souza et al, 2021), contributing to a reduced BMIz score. Nonetheless, these findings should be interpreted with caution, as children present greater sleep time variabilities at young ages (Bathory & Tomopoulos, 2017).…”

“…Indeed, all paths presented in the emergent patterns are direct or indirectly related to TPA. Previous research has shown that preschoolers with short sleep duration spend more time being sedentary, than those who comply with sleep recommendations (G aba et al, 2020;Souza et al, 2021). As postulated by the theory of energy conservation, short sleep duration is related to excessive energy expenditure to keep one alert, when it was supposed to sleep.…”

“…The benefits of movement behaviors in preventing obesity and promoting the general health are well‐stablished (Carson et al, 2017; Ji et al, 2018; de Souza et al, 2021; Wyszyńska et al, 2021). Preschoolers aged three to 4 years old should accumulate 10 to 13 sleeping hours, and for those by age five, nine to 11 sleeping hours are recommended (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, 2018; Tremblay et al, 2012, 2016).…”

“…It is known that a short sleep duration is linked to a longer time exposition to caloric consumption (Baron et al, 2011), and an unbalance between leptin and ghrelin concentrations (Taheri et al, 2004), which leads to deregulation of satiety and hunger. Moreover, short sleepers who accumulate less than 60 daily minutes of moderateto-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) show a negative relationship with BMI, that is not seen for those who are adequate sleepers (de Souza et al, 2021). Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that there is a difference between complying or not with sleep recommendations when considering its relationship with BMI.…”