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Daily Associations Between Sleep and Physical Activity

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Abstract

Background

Research has demonstrated a correlational relationship between sleep and physical activity, though this work has been largely cross sectional and fails to demonstrate temporal relationships. The purpose of this study was to test the daily, bidirectional relationships between sleep and physical activity, and whether this varied between weekdays and weekend days.

Method

Fifty-four healthy, young adults wore a Fitbit Flex to measure sleep and physical activity during a 6-day study period.

Results

Mixed linear models revealed that physical activity did not predict subsequent night’s sleep. However, on nights when participants had longer than their own average total sleep time, and greater than their own average wake after sleep onset, this predicted less physical activity the following day.

Conclusion

Results suggest that, in healthy young adults, physical activity may not promote healthier subsequent sleep, but sleep duration and continuity influence physical activity in their own way. Young adults may respond differently to health promotion efforts, and a greater understanding of these temporal associations can enhance the efficacy of these efforts.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by NSF EPSCoR Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 Cooperative Agreement Award OIA-1355466.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA

    Michael P. Mead & Leah A. Irish

  2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Kelly Baron

  3. Sanford Center for Biobehavioral Research, Fargo, ND, USA

    Morgan Sorby & Leah A. Irish

Authors
  1. Michael P. Mead
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  2. Kelly Baron
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  3. Morgan Sorby
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  4. Leah A. Irish
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael P. Mead.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Mead, M.P., Baron, K., Sorby, M. et al. Daily Associations Between Sleep and Physical Activity. Int.J. Behav. Med. 26, 562–568 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09810-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09810-6

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