Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 1;16(19):3345.
doi: 10.3390/nu16193345.

Association of Physical Activity and/or Diet with Sleep Quality and Duration in Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Jon Cruz  1 , Iñaki Llodio  2   3   4 , Aitor Iturricastillo  2   3   4 , Javier Yanci  2   3 , Silvia Sánchez-Díaz  5 , Estibaliz Romaratezabala  2   3
Affiliations

Association of Physical Activity and/or Diet with Sleep Quality and Duration in Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Jon Cruz et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Sleep is essential for health, especially during adolescence. However, most adolescents do not obtain the recommended 8 to 10 h of sleep, and their health is significantly affected. While both physical activity (PA) and diet have been shown to help improve the sleep quality and duration, the combined association of these two factors with sleep has yet to be analysed. Objectives: Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the evidence on the combined association of PA and diet with the quality and duration of sleep in adolescents. Secondary objectives were to analyse the evidence on the single association of PA with the quality and duration of sleep in adolescents and to analyse the single association of diet with the quality and duration of sleep in adolescents. Methods: To this end, a scoping review was conducted with a structured search in four online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and ERIC). Results: The findings suggest that the amount of PA (time/week) and healthy dietary patterns, characterised by meal regularity and high consumption of fruits and vegetables, favour a better quality and a longer duration of sleep. Conversely, less weekly PA and the intake of less healthy foods, such as ultra-processed foods, are associated with decreasing the sleep quality and duration. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results underscore the importance of considering PA and diet as an appropriate approach to investigating sleep quality and duration in adolescents. Studies analysing the interplay between PA, diet and sleep in adolescents are scarce.

Keywords: diet; exercise; insomnia; nutrition; sleep; sport.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of this study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart for the identification, selection, eligibility and inclusion of studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kannan R., Malhotra K., Carden A., Martin L., Abbasi-Feinberg F., Nisha A.R., Kapur K., Olson J., Rosen L., Rowley A., et al. Sleep is Essential to Health: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Position Statement. J. Clin. Sleep Med. 2021;17:2115–2119. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9476. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Watson N.F., Badr M.S., Belenky G., Bliwise D.L., Buxton O.M., Buysse D., Dinges D.F., Gangwisch J., Grandner M.A., Kushida C., et al. Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep. 2015;38:843–844. doi: 10.5665/sleep.4716. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hirshkowitz M., Whiton K., Albert S.M., Alessi C., Bruni O., DonCarlos L., Hazen N., Herman J., Adams Hillard P.J., Katz E.S., et al. National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations: Final report. Sleep Health. 2015;1:233–243. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2015.10.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nautiyal H., Roy D., Arya A., Maheshwari S., Agarwal P., Patel N., Sethi Y. Sleep Attributes Influencing Cardiovascular Morbidity among Young Adults Pursuing Professional Courses in Dehradun, India: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. 2024;16:e52647. doi: 10.7759/cureus.52647. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gariepy G., Danna S., Gobiņa I., Rasmussen M., Gaspar de Matos M., Tynjälä J., Janssen I., Kalman M., Villeruša A., Husarova D., et al. How Are Adolescents Sleeping? Adolescent Sleep Patterns and Sociodemographic Differences in 24 European and North American Countries. J. Adolesc. Health. 2020;66:S81–S88. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.03.013. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types