Seasonal and weather variation of sleep and physical activity in 12–14-year-old children

ABSTRACT

Background: Understanding variation in physical activity (PA) and sleep is necessary to develop novel intervention strategies targeting adolescents’ health behaviors. We examined the extent to which PA and sleep vary by aspects of the physical environment. Participants: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 669 adolescents in the Project Viva cohort. Methods: We estimated total PA, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and sleep midpoint timing from wrist accelerometers. We used multivariable linear regression models and generalized estimated equations to assess associations of PA and sleep with season and daily weather conditions obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration archive. Results: Mean age was 12.9 (SD 0.6) years; 51% were female and 68% were white. Mean sleep duration was 466 (SD 42) min per night and total PA was 1,652 (SD 431) counts per min per day. Sleep midpoint time was 41 (95% CI: 27 to 54) min later in summer, 28 (95% CI: −41 to −14) min earlier in spring, and 29 (95% CI: −43 to −15) min earlier in autumn compared to winter. Higher temperature and longer day length both were associated with small reductions of nightly sleep duration. Adolescents were less physically active during winter and on rainy and short sunlight days. There was an inverse U-shaped relationship between PA and mean temperature. Conclusions: Season was associated with large changes in sleep timing, and smaller changes in other sleep and PA measurements. Given the importance of sleep and circadian alignment, future health behavioral interventions may benefit by targeting “season-specific” interventions.

Acknowledgments

The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest. We thank the Project Viva participants and staff.

Funding

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R37HD034568), and National Institutes of Health (U54CA116847). This publication was partially supported by a Year 4 Within-Center Developmental Award and a Year 5 Cross-Center Developmental Award from the National Cancer Institute Centers for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) (U54CA155626). Dr. Quante was supported by a scholarship from the Max Kade Foundation (NY) and from the Tuebinger Program for the Advancement of Women in Science.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R37HD034568), and National Institutes of Health (U54CA116847). This publication was partially supported by a Year 4 Within-Center Developmental Award and a Year 5 Cross-Center Developmental Award from the National Cancer Institute Centers for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) (U54CA155626). Dr. Quante was supported by a scholarship from the Max Kade Foundation (NY) and from the Tuebinger Program for the Advancement of Women in Science.