Purpose This study aimed to investigate associations of physical activity time (PAT) and sitting time (ST) independently and jointly with insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents in the context of COVID-19. Methods A cross-sectional study including 965 adolescents (mean age = 15.26, SD = 0.46) was conducted in May 2020. PAT, ST and the symptoms of insomnia, depression and anxiety were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, the Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scales, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale via an online survey platform. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between COVID-19-related fear, PAT, ST and combinations of PAT and ST with insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results COVID-19-related fear was associated with higher odds of insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms. PAT was associated with lower odds of insomnia and depressive symptoms, while ST was associated with higher odds of these three symptoms. After combining PAT and ST, the group with both low PAT and high ST was set as the referent. For insomnia, groups with low ST reported significantly lower odds of symptoms. For depression, groups with high PAT and/or low ST reported lower odds of symptoms. Regarding anxiety, only the group with both high PAT and low ST reported lower odds of symptoms. Generally, group with both high PAT and low ST reported lower odds of the three symptoms than the referent. Conclusion COVID-19-related fear was a risk factor for developing insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents. Fortunately, moving more and sitting less were good for sleep and mental health in Chinese adolescents during the pandemic. Educators should help adolescents to be more physically active in their daily life in the primary prevention of adolescent insomnia, depression and anxiety.

Sleep disturbance is a common complaint in cancer patients. However, less is known about the parameters of sleep in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) and their family caregivers (FCs) when they are about to begin treatment. We investigated the sleep quality in patients with NPC and their FCs before treatment and determined the related factors that predict sleep disturbance in these patients before therapy. A total of 101 patient-FC dyads were recruited. They completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) prior to treatment. No differences were found in sleep disturbance between patients (38.6%) and their FCs (31.7%). Patients reported significantly higher rates of short sleep duration than their FCs (P = 0.011). Logistic regression analyses showed that older patients were more prone to suffer from poor sleep quality before treatment (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.01–1.10, P = 0.008), while patients with a higher BMI were less likely to experience sleep disturbance (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.71–0.96, P = 0.012). Sleep disturbance is a significant problem in patients with NPC and their FCs before therapy. Older patients and those with a lower BMI appear to be more inclined to suffer from poor sleep before treatment.