Actigraphic Sleep and Dietary Macronutrient Intake in Children Aged 6–9 Years Old: A Pilot Study

• Main Authors: Silvia Coronado Ferrer, Isabel Peraita-Costa, Agustín Llopis-Morales, Yolanda Picó, José Miguel Soriano, F. Javier Nieto, Agustín Llopis-González, María Morales-Suarez-Varela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: dietary intake; energy; fat; protein; carbohydrate; sleep duration
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/11/2568

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between different sleep parameters and energy and macronutrient intake in school-aged children. A total of 203 children 6 to 9 years of age participated in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements were taken first. Diet was assessed with 3-day food logs and sleep was measured with a questionnaire on sleep quality and a wrist actigraph worn for at least 7 days. A decrease of 165.45 kcal was observed per each additional hour of sleep during the week (&#946; (95% CI) = &#8722;165.45 (&#8722;274.01, &#8722;56.88); <i>p</i> = 0.003). This relationship was also observed for fat (&#946; (95% CI) = &#8722;11.14 (&#8722;18.44, &#8722;3.84); <i>p</i> = 0.003) and protein (&#946; (95% CI) = &#8722;13.27 (&#8722;22.52, &#8722;4.02); <i>p</i> = 0.005). An increase in weekend sleep efficiencies for those under the recommended threshold of 85% also had a similar association with energy (&#946; (95% CI) = &#8722;847.43 (&#8722;1566.77, 128.09); <i>p</i> = 0.021) and carbohydrate (&#946; (95% CI) = &#8722;83.96 (&#8722;161.76, &#8722;6.15); <i>p</i> = 0.035)) intake. An increase in habitual sleep variability was related with a slight increase in protein intake (&#946; (95% CI) = 0.32 (0.031, 0.62); <i>p</i> = 0.031). Children who slept less had a higher energy intake, especially from fat and protein and those who presented inefficient sleep had a higher carbohydrate intake. Strategies to enhance sleep quality and quantity combined with dietary recommendations could help to improve energy and macronutrient intake levels in children.