Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-9prln Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-07T14:43:59.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is late bedtime an overlooked sleep behaviour? Investigating associations between sleep timing, sleep duration and eating behaviours in adolescence and adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Anna H Grummon*
Affiliation:
Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
Rebeccah L Sokol
Affiliation:
Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Leslie A Lytle
Affiliation:
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email agrummon@hsph.harvard.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To examine whether bedtime is associated with usual sleep duration and eating behaviour among adolescents, emerging adults and young adults.

Design:

Cross-sectional multivariable regression models, stratified by developmental stage, to examine: (1) association between bedtime and sleep duration and (2) associations between bedtime and specific eating behaviours at each developmental period, controlling for sleep duration. All models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms and screen time behaviours.

Setting:

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, waves I–IV, USA.

Participants:

A national probability sample surveyed in adolescence (aged 12–18 years, wave I: 1994–1995, n 13 048 and wave II: 1996, n 9438), emerging adulthood (aged 18–24 years, wave III: 2001–2002, n 9424) and young adulthood (aged 24–34 years, wave IV: 2008, n 10 410).

Results:

Later bedtime was associated with shorter sleep duration in all developmental stages, such that a 1-h delay in bedtime was associated with 14–33 fewer minutes of sleep per night (Ps < 0·001). Later bedtime was also associated with lower odds of consuming healthier foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables; range of adjusted OR (AOR), 0·82–0·93, Ps < 0·05) and higher odds of consuming less healthy foods and beverages (i.e. soda, pizza, desserts and sweets; range of AOR, 1·07–1·09, Ps < 0·05). Later bedtime was also associated with more frequent fast-food consumption and higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (Ps < 0·05).

Conclusions:

Later bedtime was associated with shorter sleep duration and less healthy eating behaviours. Bedtime may be a novel behaviour to address in interventions aiming to improve sleep duration and dietary intake.

Information

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society
Figure 0

Table 1 Sample characteristics by developmental stage, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health*

Figure 1

Table 2 Association of later bedtime with usual sleep duration, by developmental stage, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health*

Figure 2

Fig. 1 Associations of later bedtime with eating behaviours, controlling for sleep duration, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Figure shows associations between bedtime and eating behaviours. Bedtime was calculated in decimal hours after 12.00 hours, such that larger values indicate later bedtimes. Figure shows unstandardised regression coefficients (Bs) for continuous outcomes (top horizontal axis) and adjusted OR (AOR) for binary outcomes (bottom horizontal axis), controlling for usual sleep duration, age, sex, race/ethnicity, nativity, parental educational attainment, logged parental income, usual time spent watching television, usual time spent playing video/computer games and depressive symptoms. All analyses accounted for complex survey features of Add Health. *P < 0·05, **P < 0·01, ***P < 0·001

Supplementary material: File

Grummon et al. supplementary material

Grummon et al. supplementary material

Download Grummon et al. supplementary material(File)
File 139.2 KB