New research suggests that a later bedtime is associated with a person spending more time sitting during the day and being less motivated to exercise.
The study involved a group of more than a hundred healthy adults with a self-reported sleep duration of at least six and a half hours. Researchers measured sleep variables over the course of a week using wrist actigraphy along with sleep diaries. Participants completed questionnaires about their physical activity and attitudes toward exercise. According to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine release, study results showed:
...that later sleep times were associated with more self-reported minutes sitting, and sleep timing remained a significant predictor of sedentary minutes after controlling for age and sleep duration. However, people who characterized themselves as night owls reported more sitting time and more perceived barriers to exercise, including not having enough time for exercise and being unable to stick to an exercise schedule regardless of what time they actually went to bed or woke up.
"We found that even among healthy, active individuals, sleep timing and circadian preference are related to activity patterns and attitudes toward physical activity," said principal investigator Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, associate professor of neurology and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. "Waking up late and being an evening person were related to more time spent sitting, particularly on weekends and with difficulty making time to exercise."
In their conclusion, researchers suggested that sleep habits - particularly those of adults who are less active - be taken into consideration as part of exercise recommendations and interventions.
Previously: Expert argues that for athletes, "sleep could mean the difference between winning and losing", Ask Stanford Med: Cheri Mah responds to questions on sleep and athletic performance, A slam dunk for sleep: Study shows benefits of slumber on athletic performance and Want to be like Mike? Take a nap on game day
Photo by Becky Wetherington
