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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Sleep Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1438786
This article is part of the Research Topic Women in Pediatric and Adolescent Sleep: Volume II View all 5 articles

The impact of the physical activity intervention on sleep in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Tong Wang Tong Wang Weicheng Li Weicheng Li DENG JIAXIN DENG JIAXIN Qiubo Zhang Qiubo Zhang *Yongfeng Liu Yongfeng Liu *Haoyu Zheng Haoyu Zheng *
  • Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The purpose of this review was to synthesize the current literature on the relationship between sleep and physical activity in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Methods: Articles were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane, and Embase until April 2024. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3. Results: Our results show that measuring sleep parameters by means of different measuring tools yields different results. Most studies have found no association between sleep and physical activity in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially when measured subjectively, such as parent reports and sleep logs. Physical activity interventions had a significant effect on sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and sleep duration when measured objectively using instruments such as wrist actigraphy. Meta-analysis showed that children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders who participated in mind-body activities (SMD = -3.01, 95%CI = -4.15 ~-1.87, P＜0.001, I 2 = 99%)showed significant improvements in sleep, which were sessions lasting more than 12 weeks (SMD = -1.01, P＜0.01, I 2 = 97%), performed at least 3 times per week (SMD = -0.81, 95%CI = -1.53 ~-0.10, P = 0.03, I 2 = 95%), and lasted for more than 60 minutes per session (SMD = -1.55, 95%CI = -2.67 -0.43, P = 0.007, I 2 = 97%). However, the results of these subgroup analyses must be interpreted with caution because of the small number of studies included. Conclusion: Our results show that measuring sleep parameters by means of different measuring tools yields different results. There was difficulty in interpreting many of the studies included in this metaanalysis, in view of the non-standardization of protocol, especially the ability range of the cohort, duration of the study, recommended exercises, whether the caregivers or researchers supervised the exercise regime/activity, and the practicality of continuing the exercise long-term by caregivers.Clinical trial registration: The protocol for this review was duly registered on PROSPERO under the registration number CRD42024541300.

    Keywords: physical activity1, Children and adolescents2, sleep3, Neurodevelopmental Disorders4, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis5

    Received: 26 May 2024; Accepted: 01 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Li, JIAXIN, Zhang, Liu and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Qiubo Zhang, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, China
    Yongfeng Liu, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, China
    Haoyu Zheng, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, China

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