Waking Activities and Sleep: Analysis of United Kingdom Adolescents' Daily Time-Use Diaries

Abstract

To investigate waking activities associated with risks of short and long sleep in a representative cohort of UK adolescents.Methods: Data from 14-year-olds participating in the UK Millennium Cohort Study were used. Daily time-use diaries were completed by adolescents on two randomly selected days (one weekday and one weekend) to capture their activities within a 24h period from 4am of each selected day. Short and long sleep duration categories were computed by using the National Sleep Foundation's age-specific non-recommended sleep duration thresholds.Results: Approximately 8% and 6% were short sleepers on weekdays and weekends, respectively. On average, adolescents spent 33% of their time awake per weekend day on recreational digital media activities. Compared to those with optimal sleep on weekdays, short sleepers spent more time on personal care (Mean Difference, MD = +56min; 95% CI: 21; 92) and less time on exercise activities (MD = -15min; 95% CI: -27; -3). 10-minute increase in daily digital media activity was associated with 2% (95% CI: 1.01; 1.03) higher relative risk (RR) of adolescents being short sleepers on weekdays. RR of short sleeping was 1.03 (95% CI: 1.01; 1.04) times higher for every10-minute daily increase in travel time on weekdays.Conclusions: Adolescents spend up to a-third of their time awake per day on digital media. However, more time spent on personal care and travel on weekdays and weekends is associated with increased risk of short sleep. These findings permit a reflection on appropriate interventions needed to improve sleep duration in sleep-deprived teens.

Sleep Duration and Waking Activities in Relation to the National Sleep Foundation’s Recommendations: An Analysis of US Population Sleep Patterns from 2015 to 2017

“…We were unable to compare the observed consistent gradients with the findings of Basner et al [ 17 ], who reported a similar declining gradient in the duration of waking activities, with increasing sleep time due to the use of different sleep duration categories and the absence of the level of significance for each individual sleep category in relation to the reference category. Similarly, a recent research study of daily time use among the UK adolescent population revealed that more time spent on personal care, travel, and education was associated with an increased risk of short sleep [ 21 ]. Nevertheless, the trends reported in the present study, including the lack of any visible gradient in TV watching across the various sleep categories, remain consistent with previous findings [ 17 ].…”

“…As previously indicated [ 17 ], habitual sleep duration represents a trade-off with waking activities. While the nature of waking-related activities, such as the stressfulness of work, type of diet, and the intensity of physical activity, can influence sleep [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], the time spent on these waking activities also competes with sleep duration in a 24 h world [ 17 , 21 ], warranting the need to maintain sleep and wakefulness [ 22 ].…”

Associations of Bedtime Schedules In Childhood With Obesity Risk In Adolescence

“…33,34 Whiles sleep duration is an important factor in relation to obesity risk, xed wake times likely due to school start time and other social demands for early school-age children implies that the most probable and modi able risk factor to ensure su cient sleep duration is early bedtime and a regular bedtime routine. 16,35 Metabolic and endocrinal dysregulation arising from shorter sleep duration and irregular sleep patterns may explain the observed relationships between bedtime irregularity, late bedtimes and increased adiposity in our study. The relationship between late bedtimes and higher obesity risk may also be partially explained by the time available to eat and the likelihood of late night eating.…”

Diurnal fluctuations in musical preference

“…Many of the recurring daily activities defining our everyday life, such as waking up, going outside, and having meals, exhibit population-level regularities, although with diverging pathways through the day (6)(7)(8)(9)(10). Over the last few decades, it has become apparent that cognitive and affective states exhibit systematic diurnal patterns too (11)(12)(13).…”