Associations of Sleep Duration, Quality, and Timing With Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors Among High School Students
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mortality, yet only 26.1% of US high school students report meeting the 60-minute daily PA guideline. Adolescents' sleep may contribute to their activity patterns. However, findings in this area have been inconsistent, and few studies have used both objectively measured sleep and PA. METHODS: Two hundred and sixty ninth-grade students (mean age = 14.7, SD = 0.5) in Minnesota wore wrist actigraphs for 7 days to assess weekday and weekend sleep duration, midpoint, efficiency, latency, moderate to vigorous PA, light PA, and waking sedentary time. Multiple regression analyses, controlling for demographics, assessed whether sleep features were associated with activity levels. RESULTS: Weekday and weekend sedentary time decreased by 25.86 and 19.21 minutes per each additional hour in weekday and weekend sleep duration, respectively. A later weekend sleep midpoint was associated with 8.09 fewer minutes of weekend sedentary time. Sleep duration related to less daily time spent in light PA (8.66 and 9.64 min per every additional hour slept on weekdays and weekends, respectively). Each hour of advancement in weekday sleep midpoint was associated with 14.22 additional minutes of light PA and 3.06 more minutes of moderate to vigorous PA. For each additional percentage point in sleep efficiency, 2.11 minutes less weekend light PA was observed. CONCLUSION: If sleep can influence activity, modifying sleep could be a path to promoting healthful activity levels. Further, given that PA and sleep may be mutually reinforcing, targeting both behaviors concurrently could provide comprehensive health promotion.
Authors: Kayla T. Johnson, Emma Billmyer, Sarah M. Kaja, Rachel Widome
Institution: University of Minnesota
Language: English
Topic: Sleep and related disorders
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Research on Eating and Activity for Community Health (REACH): An Applied Epidemiology Training Program to Improve Weight-Related Health in Youth and Families from Diverse Communities, University of Minnesota Clinical and TranslationalmScience Institute (UMN CTSI), Impacts of Later High School Start Times on Adolescent Weight and Weight-Related Behavior, The Influence of School Start Time on Sleep, Academic Achievement, and Behavioral Outcomes in Adolescents, Minnesota Population Center
OpenAlex ID: W4417436364