Associations between objective measures of physical activity, sleep and stress levels among preschool children.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cortisol is often used as a biological marker for stress. When measured in urine or serum, representing a short-term measurement of the hormone, it has been associated with unfavorable sleep characteristics and both low and high physical activity levels. However, cortisol in hair represents a long-term stress measure and has been suggested as a promising new marker for chronic stress. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between objectively measured sleep, physical activity and hair cortisol levels in preschool children.

Methods

In order to obtain objective measures of physical activity and sleep habits, 54 children aged 2-6 years wore an ActiGraph for 5 consecutive days and nights. For chronic stress measurements of each child, hair was cut from the bac

SUBMITTER: Eythorsdottir DY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7254697 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature