Association between sleep quality and duration and physical fitness among children and adolescents. A systematic review of cross-sectional studies
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https://doi.org/10.17979/sportis.2025.11.4.11951Abstract
Sleep and physical fitness are key components of health, yet their relationship in children and adolescents remains unclear. While previous research has extensively examined the link between physical activity and sleep, fewer studies have focused on the association between physical fitness and sleep quality or duration. This systematic review aims to analyze cross-sectional studies published in the last five years that examine the relationship between physical fitness and sleep duration or quality in individuals aged 6 to 19 years. A systematic search was conducted in Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus, following PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they assessed physical fitness and sleep parameters in healthy children and adolescents. Methodological quality was evaluated using the STROBE checklist. A total of nine studies with 11,321 participants were included. Findings indicate an inconsistent relationship between physical fitness and sleep duration. While adequate sleep duration was associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents, results in younger children showed discrepancies. No significant associations were found between sleep duration and muscle strength. Additionally, there is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of sleep quality on physical fitness. Most studies relied on self-reported sleep data, which may affect result validity. The relationship between sleep and physical fitness remains unclear, particularly in younger children and in components beyond cardiorespiratory fitness. Future research should utilize objective sleep measurements while accounting for factors such as gender and sociocultural differences to gain a clearer understanding of this relationship.
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