Physical Activity and Sleep Observation in Preschool Aged Children

Abstract

Introduction Physical activity participation improves the health of preschool aged children and benefits them physiologically, psychologically, cognately, and socially. Sleep also benefits preschool aged children’s mental and physical health. Unfortunately, childhood obesity and hypertension are becoming more prevalent in preschool aged children. While achieving the recommended amount of physical activity and sleep at the preschool age may decrease children’s risk for these illnesses, limited research has examined the associations physical activity and sleep have with health outcomes in this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between physical activity, sleep, and health outcomes in preschool aged children. Methods This study included 11 parent-child dyads. All children who participated were aged 3-5 years. At the initial visit, parents completed a demographic and health history survey and survey on their child’s sleep behavior. Additionally, the children’s height, weight, waist circumference, heart rate, and blood pressure (BP) were measured, and they were given an accelerometer to wear for 8 days. During this 8-day period, parents completed a sleep diary to record when their child slept at night or during the day and to mark if their child fell asleep and woke up independently or with assistance from their parent. Upon return of the accelerometer and sleep diary, the child received a ball and $20.00 gift card for participating in the study. Height and weight were used to determine the children’s body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score, and BMI percentile. BP was used to calculate participants BP percentile and BP z-score. The accelerometers were used to calculate the amount of time spent in light, moderate, vigorous, MVPA, and total physical activity. Data collected from the sleep diary was used to calculate the children’s total sleep at night and during nap times. Total amount of sleep was calculated by adding the amount of time spent in nighttime sleep and naps. Results Of the 11 children (3.80±0.79 years) who participated, 64% were female and 36% were male, 82% were White and 18% were African American. The preschooler’s spent more time in moderate (48.37±29.63 minutes/day) than vigorous physical activity (5.05±3.74 minutes/day). On average, the children met physical activity guidelines by participating in 391.77±56.20 minutes/day of total physical activity. The average total amount of sleep was 10.53±1.58 hours/day, and 50% of the preschool children met sleep guidelines. Of the children, 60% took naps during the day and the mean amount of nap time sleep per day was 1.57±.71 hours/day. The mean BMI z-score of the children was 0.3±.73 and the mean BMI percentile was 58.82±23.02. The mean systolic BP z-score was -.18±.93 and the mean diastolic BP z-score was .93±.77. Of the children, 27% had an elevated BP and 73% had a normal BP. Total physical activity per day may have been positively associated with total sleep per day and negatively associated with waist circumference. The amount of time spent in moderate physical activity per day may have been negatively associated with BMI z-score, SBP z-score, and DBP z-score. Additionally, the total amount of sleep per day may have been negatively associated with waist circumference and SBP z-score. Conclusion Further research is necessary to determine the relationships between physical activity, sleep, and health outcomes in typically developing preschool aged children. Preschool children who meet physical activity guidelines may be more likely to have better sleep behaviors and longer sleep duration. It is recommended that preschool aged children meet sleep and physical activity guidelines to have better health outcomes. Although the data collected from this study is inconclusive, it contributes to the gap in existing research related to physical activity, sleep, and health outcomes in typically developing preschool aged children.