Temporal and bi-directional associations between sleep duration and physical activity/sedentary time in children: An international comparison

• Published in: Preventive medicine Vol. 111; pp. 436 - 441
• Main Authors: Lin, Yingyi, Tremblay, Mark S., Katzmarzyk, Peter T., Fogelholm, Mikael, Hu, Gang, Lambert, Estelle V., Maher, Carol, Maia, Jose, Olds, Timothy, Sarmiento, Olga L., Standage, Martyn, Tudor-Locke, Catrine, Chaput, Jean-Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2018
• Subjects: 24-Hour movements; Accelerometry - methods; Body Mass Index; Child; Child Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Exercise; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Internationality; Male; Multilevel modelling; Population health; Sedentary Behavior; Sleep - physiology; Time Factors; Within-subject effects; Within-subject effects; 24-Hour movements; Child health; Multilevel modelling; Population health
• ISSN: 0091-7435; 1096-0260; 1096-0260
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.12.006

The purpose of this multinational and cross-sectional study was to investigate whether nighttime sleep duration was associated with physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) the following day, whether daytime PA/SED were associated with sleep duration the subsequent night, and whether the associations were modified by sex and study sites. Data from 5779 children aged 9–11years were analyzed. A waist-worn Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer was used to assess children's 24-h movement behaviours for 7days, i.e. sleep duration, total SED, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). Multilevel linear regression models were used to account for the repeated measures nested within participants (there were up to 7 sleep→PA/SED and PA/SED→sleep pairings per participant) and schools, and adjusted for covariates. To facilitate interpretation, all sleep and PA/SED variables were standardized. Results showed that the relationship between sleep and PA/SED is bi-directional in this international sample of children. Specifically, for each one standard deviation (SD) unit increase in sleep duration, SED the following day decreased by 0.04 SD units, while LPA and MVPA increased by 0.04 and 0.02 SD units, respectively. Sleep duration decreased by 0.02 SD units and increased by 0.04 SD units for each one SD unit increase in SED and MVPA, respectively. Sleep duration was not affected by changes in LPA. These associations differed across sex and study sites in both directions. However, since the observed effect sizes are subtle, public health initiatives should consider the clinical and practical relevance of these findings. •The association between nocturnal sleep and daytime activity was assessed.•Longer sleep predicted more physical activity (PA) and less sedentary time (SED).•More moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA and less SED predicted longer sleep.•Child's sex and study sites modified the bi-directional associations.•The clinical relevance of the statistically significant findings may be debated.