Dataset Information

Less screen time and more physical activity is associated with more stable sleep patterns among Icelandic adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Emerging evidence suggests that inconsistent sleep may affect physical and psychological health. Thus, it is important to identify modifiable determinants of sleep variability. Screen time and physical activity are both thought to affect sleep, but studies of their relationship to sleep variability using objective measures are lacking. We examined cross-sectional associations between these variables in mid-teen adolescents using objectively measured sleep and activity.

Methods

Wrist-worn accelerometers were used to measure one week of sleep and activity in 315 tenth grade students (mean age 15.8y) from six Reykjavík compulsory schools. Participants reported their daily hours of screen time. Regression analysis was used to explore associations of screen time and physical activity with variability in duration, quality, and timing of sleep, adjusting for DXA-measured body fat percentage, parental education, and physical activity or screen time.

Results

Screen time, especially game playing, was associated with variability in duration, timing, and quality of sleep, most strongly with variation in bedtime. Physical activity was inversely associated with variability in duration, timing, and quality of sleep, most strongly with variation in the number of awakenings. Boys had less stable sleep patterns and higher screen time than girls, and sex-specific associations of screen time with sleep variability parameters were significant for boys only.

Conclusions

Less screen time and more physical activity were independently associated with less sleep variability among mid-teen adolescents. Our results indicate that encouraging youngsters toward an active lifestyle with limited screen use may be important to achieve more consistent sleep.

SUBMITTER: Hrafnkelsdottir SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7575609 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Sleep and physical activity are modifiable behaviors that play an important role in preventing overweight, obesity, and metabolic health problems. Studies of the association between concurrent objective measures of sleep, physical activity, and metabolic risk factors among adolescents are limited. OBJECTIVE:The aim of the study was to examine the association between metabolic risk factors and objectively measured school day physical activity and sleep duration, quality, onset, and variability in adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We measured one school week of free-living sleep and physical activity with wrist actigraphy in 252 adolescents (146 girls), aged 15.8±0.3 years. Metabolic risk factors included body mass index, waist circumference, total body and trunk fat percentage, resting blood pressure, and fasting glucose and insulin levels. Multiple linear regression adjusted for sex, parental education, and day length was used to assess associations between metabolic risk factors and sleep and activity parameters. RESULTS:On average, participants went to bed at 00:22±0.88 hours and slept 6.2±0.7 hours/night, with 0.83±0.36 hours of awakenings/night. However, night-to-night variability in sleep duration was considerable (mean ± interquartile range) 0.75±0.55 hours) and bedtime (0.64±0.53 hours) respectively. Neither average sleep duration nor mean bedtime was associated with any metabolic risk factors. However, greater night-to-night variability in sleep duration and bedtime was associated with higher total body and trunk fat percentage, and less physical activity was associated with higher trunk fat percentage and insulin levels. CONCLUSION:Greater nightly variation in sleep duration and in bedtime and less physical activity were associated with a less favorable metabolic profile in adolescents. These findings support the idea that, along with an adequate amount of physical activity, a regular sleep schedule is important for the metabolic health of adolescents.

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