Sleep Patterns and Health Status in Homeschool Children

Background: With a growing number of children being educated in the home, it is crucial to better understand how this setting might impact health. Methods: The aim of this study was to describe sleep patterns as they relate to physical activity, weight status, and cardiovascularhealth in a group of homeschool children within the United States. 25 participants ages 8-16 were measured by accelerometry during seven consecutive days to determine sleep and physical activity behaviors. Other measures included Body Mass Index, body fat percentage, and aerobic threshold (VO2). Results: Significant relationships were found between sleep patterns based on gender, age, and day-to-day activity associations. Conclusions: It was determined that children who were more physically active slept less at night. Lastly, behaviors were very consistent in this group with little variance between weekday and weekend sleep and physical activity patterns.