Association of Physical Activity Intensity and Light/Deep Sleep in Young People from Southern Spain
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Dependent Variables: Light and Deep Sleep
2.2.2. Independent Variables: Daily Physical Activity Intensity
2.2.3. Confounding Variables
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Association Between Physical Activity Intensity at Light HR (Resting HR–50% of Maximum HR) and Light/Deep Sleep, Adjusted for Age, Sex, and BMI
3.2. Association Between Physical Activity Intensity at Moderate HR (50–70% of Maximum HR) and Light/Deep Sleep, Adjusted for Age, Sex, and BMI
3.3. Association Between Physical Activity Intensity at Vigorous HR (70–85% of Maximum HR) and Light/Deep Sleep, Adjusted for Age, Sex, and BMI
4. Discussion
4.1. Practical Recommendations
4.2. Limitations and Strengths
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | All (n = 1072) | Boys (n = 502) | Girls (n = 570) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | p | |
Age (years) | 13.03 | 1.79 | 13.06 | 1.82 | 13 | 1.76 | 0.99 |
Weight (kg) | 51.59 | 13.6 | 53.58 | 15.05 | 49.59 | 11.66 | <0.001 |
Height (m) | 1.58 | 0.11 | 1.60 | 0.13 | 1.56 | 0.086 | <0.001 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 20.33 | 4.1 | 20.49 | 3.93 | 20.18 | 4.08 | 0.155 |
Nº of computers at home | 2.31 | 1.4 | 2.32 | 1.45 | 2.29 | 1.38 | 0.678 |
Maternal education level (%) | <0.001 | ||||||
No education | 4.9% | 2.3% | 2.6% | ||||
Primary | 10.1% | 5.4% | 4.7% | ||||
Secondary | 13.8% | 5.5% | 8.2% | ||||
Vocational training | 12.7% | 6.6% | 6.1% | ||||
University | 37.3% | 16.8% | 20.6% | ||||
Unknown | 21.2% | 13% | 8.2% | ||||
Min. of PA/day at light HR | 1031.76 | 215.44 | 1025.02 | 230.67 | 1037.42 | 201.81 | 0.317 |
Min. of PA/day at moderate HR | 67.67 | 54.86 | 65.43 | 47.10 | 69.55 | 60.59 | 0.239 |
Min. of PA/day at vigorous HR | 3.52 | 8.71 | 3.67 | 8.95 | 3.40 | 8.5 | 0.620 |
Sleep variables | |||||||
Average of Min./day of Light Sleep | 363.40 | 97.62 | 364.63 | 98.85 | 362.42 | 96.69 | 0.717 |
Average of Min./day of Deep Sleep | 97.66 | 52.55 | 92.77 | 50.18 | 101.57 | 54.1 | 0.007 |
Variable | Light Sleep | Deep Sleep | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | SE | p | β | SE | p | |
Age (years) | −17.72 | 1.66 | <0.001 | 0.483 | 0.940 | 0.607 |
Sex | −4.45 | 5.74 | 0.438 | 7.59 | 3.24 | 0.019 |
BMI (kg/m2) | −0.651 | 0.751 | 0.386 | −0.496 | 0.424 | 0.243 |
Light-intensity PA (min/day) | −0.042 | 0.017 | 0.015 | 0.022 | 0.010 | 0.023 |
Variable | Light Sleep | Deep Sleep | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | SE | p | β | SE | p | |
Age (years) | −18.86 | 1.66 | <0.001 | 0.727 | 0.939 | 0.439 |
Sex | −3.59 | 5.75 | 0.532 | 7.384 | 3.24 | 0.023 |
BMI (kg/m2) | −0.485 | 0.759 | 0.523 | −0.435 | 0.429 | 0.311 |
Moderate-intensity PA (min/day) | −0.089 | 0.052 | 0.090 | −0.027 | 0.029 | 0.366 |
Variable | Light Sleep | Deep Sleep | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | SE | p | β | SE | p | |
Age (years) | −18.05 | 1.63 | <0.001 | 0.875 | 0.903 | 0.333 |
Sex | −5.42 | 5.72 | 0.343 | 6.39 | 3.16 | 0.044 |
BMI (kg/m2) | −0.462 | 0.751 | 0.539 | −0.502 | 0.414 | 0.226 |
Vigorous-intensity PA (min/day) | −0.407 | 0.322 | 0.206 | 0.302 | 0.038 | <0.001 |
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Ramírez-Espejo, P.; Solas-Martínez, J.L.; de la Torre-Cruz, M.J.; Ruiz-Ariza, A. Association of Physical Activity Intensity and Light/Deep Sleep in Young People from Southern Spain. Children 2025, 12, 534. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050534
Ramírez-Espejo P, Solas-Martínez JL, de la Torre-Cruz MJ, Ruiz-Ariza A. Association of Physical Activity Intensity and Light/Deep Sleep in Young People from Southern Spain. Children. 2025; 12(5):534. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050534
Chicago/Turabian StyleRamírez-Espejo, Pablo, José Luis Solas-Martínez, Manuel J. de la Torre-Cruz, and Alberto Ruiz-Ariza. 2025. "Association of Physical Activity Intensity and Light/Deep Sleep in Young People from Southern Spain" Children 12, no. 5: 534. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050534
APA StyleRamírez-Espejo, P., Solas-Martínez, J. L., de la Torre-Cruz, M. J., & Ruiz-Ariza, A. (2025). Association of Physical Activity Intensity and Light/Deep Sleep in Young People from Southern Spain. Children, 12(5), 534. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050534