Poster #104 - Physical Activity as an Attenuator of Racial Disparities in Sleep Duration

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Health, Growth, Injury

Integrative Statement

Shorter sleep in adolescence is associated with increased risk for negative outcomes in mental health (depression, anxiety, externalizing behavior), academic achievement (lower grades), physical health (obesity), and public safety (motor vehicle accidents) (Bauducco et al., 2016; Dewald et al., 2010; Owens, 2014). While diminished sleep during the teenage years is well-documented across populations (Owens, 2014), important racial/ethnic differences also have been observed, with adolescent Blacks/African-Americans (AA) obtaining less sleep on average than Whites/European Americans (EA) (Moore et al., 2011). Given the substantial risks associated with shorter sleep, attenuating factors should be identified that help to close this “sleep gap” for AA. Physical activity is one such potential protective factor, given its positive association with longer sleep among teenagers (Philbrook & El-Sheikh, 2016).

The present study is built on existing literature by testing whether physical activity moderates the relationship between race/ethnicity and sleep minutes. This is the first such assessment in the field. Further, research to date has typically assessed sleep duration via parent- or child self-report, yet we objectively measured sleep minutes using actigraphs – another strength of the present study. We hypothesized that the gap in sleep minutes between AA and EA would be narrowed at higher levels of physical activity.

Participants included a socioeconomically diverse community sample of 246 adolescents (mean age = 15.79 years; 33% AA, 67% EA; 53% female). Parents reported on youths’ race at the time of recruitment. Adolescents were asked to wear actiwatches (Motionlogger Octagonal Basic; Ambulatory Monitoring Inc.) at home for 7 nights to provide an objective measurement of the number of minutes they actually slept (total minutes scored as sleep between sleep onset and wake time excluding periods of wakefulness).

Consistent with the literature, an independent samples t-test revealed race/ethnic differences in sleep minutes. On average, AA spent 26 fewer minutes asleep than EA (see Table 1 [A]). Consistent with hypotheses, a regression analysis revealed that physical activity functioned as a moderator in the association between race/ethnicity and adolescents’ actual sleep time (see Table 1 [B]). The plot of the interaction and the test of simple slopes indicated that there was no significant racial difference in sleep minutes at a higher level of physical activity (see Figure 1). Further analyses will examine sleepiness and variability in sleep schedule as additional parameters.

These novel results demonstrate the strength of physical activity as a protective factor that reduces racial disparities in sleep duration during adolescence. Of importance to note, however, is the fact that the majority of adolescents in the study sample were not obtaining the recommended 8–10 hours of sleep for this age group (Hirshkowitz et al., 2015). Interventionists and policymakers may promote physical activity among all adolescents in order to mitigate the risks associated with insufficient-length sleep.

Authors

• Brian T. Gillis, Auburn University
  Presenting Author

• Mina Shimizu, Auburn University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mona El-Sheikh, Auburn University
  Non-Presenting Author