Adequate physical activity is positively associated with sleep

Objective: Examine the relationship between sleep and physical activity; specifically to examine whether adequate physical activity is associated with adequate sleep.

Methods: In multinomial regression analysis, we examined the association of physical activity and sleep among California adults 18 years and older using data from the California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (n=10,166). Sleep was used as a 3-category variable according to national guidelines: insufficient (1-6 hours/night), sufficient (7-9 hours/night), or excessive (10+ hours/night). Physical activity was fit as a 2-category variable using national guidelines: adequate (150 minutes per week of moderate or vigorous activity) versus inadequate (less than 150 minutes per week or none). Analyses adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, sex, employment status, body mass index (BMI), general health status, poverty status, and education level.

Results: In multinomial regression analyses, adequate physical activity was inversely associated with excessive sleep (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.48, 0.94) and insufficient sleep (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.77-1.00), after adjusting for age, gender, race, employment status, BMI, general health status, poverty level, and education level.

Conclusions: Our analysis found that engaging in adequate physical activity is inversely associated with adults being less likely to report excessive sleep and marginally associated with insufficient sleep. Physical activity may impact sleep quality, which can impact overall quality of life. It is important to continue studying the relationship between physical activity and sleep to improve our understanding of how these two factors relate to one another and their influence on population health.