What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to explore the relationship between sleep duration, physical activity, and executive function in adolescents over one academic year.

March 12, 2026Open Access

Sleep Duration and Physical Activity as Predictors of Executive Function in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

Key Points

This study aims to explore the relationship between sleep duration, physical activity, and executive function in adolescents over one academic year.
Conducted a longitudinal study with 168 Spanish adolescents aged 13-16 years.
Monitored sleep duration and daily steps with Fitbit Charge 6 for 7-day periods.
Assessed executive functions using validated tasks: Stroop, PVT-B, and PASAT.
Employed linear mixed models to analyze the effects of physical activity and sleep on executive function.
Physical activity significantly predicted executive function performance, but sleep duration did not.
High physical activity group showed faster reaction times in inhibitory control and fewer attentional lapses.
Higher daily steps were linked to faster reaction times in inhibitory control in the overall adolescent sample.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a critical period for executive function (EF) maturation. While sleep and physical activity (PA) are key lifestyle factors, their longitudinal impact on EF in ecologically valid settings is insufficiently characterised. This study examined the associations between objectively measured sleep duration, daily steps, and EF performance across one academic year (~9 months). Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted with 168 Spanish adolescents (13–16 years). Sleep duration and daily steps were monitored using Fitbit Charge 6 wearables for 7-day periods at baseline (M1; September 2024) and follow-up (M2; June 2025). EFs were assessed using three validated tasks: Stroop (inhibitory control), Psychomotor Vigilance Task-Brief (PVT-B; sustained attention), and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT; working memory). Linear Mixed Models (LMM) were employed to analyse the effects of the fixed factors (i. e. , Group and Time), and their interactions. Results: PA, but not sleep duration, significantly predicted executive performance. The HighPA group demonstrated faster reaction times in inhibitory control (p = 0. 007) and significantly fewer attentional lapses in sustained attention (p = 0. 014). In contrast, sleep duration showed no significant main effects on EF domains (p > 0. 05). Regression analyses confirmed that higher daily steps predicted faster reaction times in inhibitory control in the total sample (r = −0. 173, p = 0. 002), although an unexpected positive association was observed in the LowPA group for inhibitory control, warranting cautious interpretation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that habitual PA is associated with better EF performance in adolescents, whereas sleep duration alone (without considering timing or variability) showed no significant associations with cognitive outcomes. Sensitivity analyses using clinically informed thresholds and continuous standardised predictors confirmed the robustness of these findings.

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Cite This Study

Ayuso-Moreno et al. (Tue,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69b25b1996eeacc4fcec9765 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16030302

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