The relationship between sleep and physical activity: the moderating role of daily alcohol consumption

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 44; no. 10; p. 1
• Main Authors: Tracy, Eunjin Lee, Reid, Kathryn Jean, Baron, Kelly Glazer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01-10-2021
• Subjects: Actigraphy; Adolescent; Adult; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Analysis; Drinking of alcoholic beverages; Exercise; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Polysomnography; Sleep; Sleep, Health and Disease; Young Adult; alcohol; sleep; actigraphy; physical activity
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsab112

Abstract
Study Objectives
Studies have demonstrated a daily, bidirectional relationship between sleep and physical activity. However, little is known about how other health behaviors, such as alcohol consumption affect this relationship. This study examined how daily and average alcohol consumption affects the relationships between sleep and physical activity.
Methods
Participants included 70 men and women, ages 18–50 with sleep duration >6.5 hours. Participants wore an actigraph, physical activity monitor and recorded number of alcoholic drinks by daily food logs for 7 days. Results were analyzed using multi-level models to evaluate the 7-day average (i.e. between-person effects) and daily effects (i.e. within-person effects) simultaneously.
Results
Those with more average (7 day) minutes of vigorous physical activity had less wake after sleep onset (WASO). Furthermore, a higher number of alcoholic drinks was associated with longer sleep duration and higher WASO over 7 days. Days with a higher number of alcoholic drinks were associated with higher WASO and sleep fragmentation that night. Alcohol intake moderated the average (7 days) and daily relationships between sleep and physical activity such that high average (7 days) WASO was associated with shorter average total physical activity duration, but only for those with higher alcohol intake. In addition, longer physical activity duration during the day was associated with lower sleep fragmentation that night, but only for those with lower alcohol intake.
Conclusions
These data demonstrate that in a naturalistic setting, alcohol intake negatively impacts sleep and diminishes the benefits of physical activity on sleep.