Associations among physical activity, screen time, and sleep in low socioeconomic status urban girls

- Preadolescent girls in low SES urban environments suffer from poor sleep quality.
- Physical activity and sleep may be inversely related in children.
- Studies regarding this behavioral relationship are lacking in low SES urban girls.
- Results suggest more screen time is associated with poor sleep in this population.
- Screen time is a promising target behavior for sleep interventions in children.

Insufficient sleep is associated with higher risk of poor health outcomes in low socioeconomic status (SES) urban elementary age girls. Decreased physical activity (PA) and increased screen time may be associated with poor sleep. This study examined if PA and screen time are associated with sleep in girls from a low SES urban community. Baseline data from 7 to 12 year-old girls (n = 55) from two interventions conducted in Springfield, MA between 2012 and 2015 were used. PA was measured via accelerometry for seven days. Screen time and sleep were assessed via validated questionnaires. Sleep was also assessed via accelerometry in a subsample of girls (n = 24) for 7 days. Associations among PA, screen time, and sleep were analyzed using multiple linear regression. More minutes of screen time per day (p = 0.01, r2 = 0.35, r2 adjusted = 0.23) was associated with worse sleep quality (β = 0.50, p = 0.02). There were negative correlations between PA and the number of awakenings per night (r = − 0.45, p = 0.04) and between counts per minute and sleep fragmentation (r = − 0.65, p = 0.002) assessed by accelerometer. In this population, increased screen time was associated with worse sleep quality and decreased PA was correlated with more awakenings per night and higher sleep fragmentation. These findings suggest that screen time and PA may be modifiable risk factors for interventions seeking to improve sleep in this population.