Pano-Rodriguez Alvaro, Arnau-Salvador Rosa, Mayolas-Pi Carmen, Hernandez-Gonzalez Vicenç, Legaz-Arrese Alejandro, Reverter-Masia Joaquim
Department of Education Science, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Social Work, University of Lleida, 25003 Lleida, Spain.
Consolidated Research Group Human Movement Generalitat de Catalunya, University of Lleida, 25003 Lleida, Spain.
Children (Basel). 2023 Mar 26;10(4):622. doi: 10.3390/children10040622.
sleep is a physiological process that is critical for physical and mental health in children. Childhood encompasses diverse developmental stages that may affect the impact of physical activity on sleep quality, which may also be influenced by sex. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediation effect of sex and, as well as maturational stage on the association between physical activity and sleep quality, among primary school children.
this was a cross-sectional study of 954 Spanish primary school students (437 early childhood and 517 middle childhood) with a mean age of 10.5 ± 1.2 years. Participants reported their sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and their physical activity levels using the Physical Activity Questionnaire.
our study found that physical activity is associated with improved sleep quality in children, particularly during middle childhood. Higher physical activity was linked to better sleep quality and reduced sleep latency ( 0.044). Sleep quality was generally better in males than in females ( 0.002) and was also better in early than middle childhood ( 0.000).
especially in middle childhood, physical activity promotes children's sleep quality. Thus, educational institutions should promote or improve the implementation of physical activity in the school context in order to benefit children's sleep quality and, hence, improve their quality of life and wellbeing.
睡眠是一种生理过程，对儿童的身心健康至关重要。童年包含不同的发育阶段，这些阶段可能会影响体育活动对睡眠质量的影响，而睡眠质量也可能受到性别的影响。本研究的目的是探讨性别以及成熟阶段对小学生体育活动与睡眠质量之间关联的中介作用。
这是一项对954名西班牙小学生（437名幼儿期和517名童年中期）进行的横断面研究，平均年龄为10.5±1.2岁。参与者使用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数报告他们的睡眠质量，并使用体育活动问卷报告他们的体育活动水平。
我们的研究发现，体育活动与儿童睡眠质量的改善有关，尤其是在童年中期。较高的体育活动水平与更好的睡眠质量和缩短的睡眠潜伏期相关（0.044）。男性的睡眠质量总体上优于女性（0.002），幼儿期的睡眠质量也优于童年中期（0.000）。
特别是在童年中期，体育活动可促进儿童的睡眠质量。因此，教育机构应在学校环境中促进或改善体育活动的实施，以有益于儿童的睡眠质量，从而提高他们的生活质量和幸福感。
