24-h movement behaviours in Spanish youth before and after 1-year into the covid-19 pandemic and its relationship to academic performance

• Published in: Scientific reports 2022-10, Vol.12 (1), p.16660-16660, Article 16660
• Main Authors: Tapia-Serrano, Miguel Angel, Sánchez-Oliva, David, Sevil-Serrano, Javier, Marques, Adilson, Sánchez-Miguel, Pedro Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/553; 692/699; 692/700; Academic achievement; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Pandemics; Physical activity; Public health; Questionnaires; Schools; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Screen time; Sleep
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21096-5

Most studies have shown a decline in the adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines because of Covid-19 lockdown. However, there is little evidence regarding changes 1-year after the pandemic in these guidelines and their possible impact on academic performance. The study aims were: (1) to examine the possible changes in 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for youth (i.e., at least 60 min per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, ≤ 2 h per day of recreational screen time, and 9 to 11 h of sleep per day for children and 8 to 10 h for adolescents) before and after 1-year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and (2) to examine the possible changes in the relationship between 24-Hour Movement Behaviours (physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration) and academic performance before and after 1-year into the Covid-19. This is a repeated cross-sectional study in two different samples of young Spanish at different times. Firstly, a total of 844 students (13.12 ± 0.86; 42.7% girls) completed a series of valid and reliable questionnaires about physical activity levels, recreational screen time, sleep duration and academic performance before Covid-19 pandemic (March to June 2018). Secondly, a different sample of 501 students (14.39 ± 1.16; 55.3% girls) completed the same questionnaires 1-year after Covid-19 pandemic (February to March 2021). Adherence to the three 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was significantly lower 1-year after into the Covid-19 pandemic (0.2%) than before the pandemic (3.3%), while adherence to none of these three recommendations was significantly higher 1-year after the Covid-19 pandemic (66.3%) than before the pandemic (28.9%). The positive relationship between physical activity levels and academic performance was no longer significant after 1-year into Covid-19 pandemic (β = − 0.26; p   0.05) and sleep duration (β = 0.05; p