Sleep is in for Summer: Patterns of Sleep and Physical Activity in Urban Minority Girls

Abstract

Objective Urban minority girls are at risk for summertime weight gain, and may also experience insufficient summertime sleep. Few studies have objectively measured sleep in this population or examined correlates, including physical activity (PA). This study is the first to objectively describe summertime sleep among urban minority girls. Methods Data were collected at a community-based summer program that promoted PA (n = 60 girls, ages 10–14 years), at two time points: before beginning programming (T1; unstructured context) and during the final week of programming (T2; structured context). Results At both time points, participants experienced shorter nighttime sleep than the recommended amount for girls their age. African American girls recorded significantly less sleep than Latina girls in the unstructured context. Findings also suggest that sleep schedules have an influential role in youths’ abilities to obtain adequate sleep. Conclusion Overall, summertime sleep is an understudied health behavior that may be important to consider among minority youth.