Pre-adolescents' hiking, health, sleep 1 Relationships Between Outdoor Physical Activity, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Sleep in 8-to-12-year-old children: an Exploratory Study

Callista Zayatz ¹ Olivia Hopko ¹ Karlie Gambino ¹ Rocco Paluch ¹ Stephanie Anzman-Frasca ^1,2 Mackenzie J Ferrante ^3*

• ¹ Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
• ² Center for Ingestive Behavior Research, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
• ³ Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, United States

Children today are at high risk of chronic disease, partially due to time spent being sedentary. High levels of physical activity in children have been linked to increased physical and psychological well-being and high sleep quality. Further, time spent outdoors has also been linked to overall wellbeing in children. Outdoor physical activities may have additional benefits for children, especially in winter when indoor sedentary time increases. The present online survey study examined relationships between parent reports of 8-to-12-year-old children’s (n =47) general physical activity, hiking frequency, health-related quality of life (a measure of children’s physical, psychological, and social wellbeing; HRQoL), and sleep routines in winter 2023. Parent-reported frequency of children’s hiking was predictive of children’s overall wellbeing, where those who hiked more frequently had higher HRQoL scores (ß=1.20, p=0.01, R2=0.24). More frequent hiking was also related to more consistent bedtime and waking routines (ß=0.19, p=0.02, R2=0.27; ß=0.19, p=0.009, R2=0.22). In contrast, overall weekly physical activity level was not predictive of HRQoL scores or sleep. Results support further investigation into hiking as a health promotion intervention for youth.