Sedentary lifestyles contributing to sleep deprivation among children and youth
News Release
ParticipACTION Report Card and new guidelines call for increased physical activity
Sedentary lifestyles are contributing to a creeping 'sleepidemic' in Canadian children and youth, according to the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, an annual comprehensive assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada. For the first time ever, the Report Card assigns a grade to sleep and includes the world's first guidelines for what a healthy 24 hour period looks like for children and youth.
The Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth show the interrelationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep, and make recommendations on the amount of each that is needed for a child's optimal health. The guidelines call for at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, with no more than two hours a day of recreational screen time, limited sitting, and 9-11 hours of sleep per night for children 5-13 years, and 8-10 hours for those aged 14-17 years.
According to the Report Card, only nine percent of kids get enough heart-pumping physical activity and only 24 percent are meeting screen time guidelines of no more than two hours per day. In recent decades, children's nightly sleep duration has decreased by 30 minutes to an hour, leaving 31 percent of school-aged kids and 26 percent of adolescents in Canada sleep-deprived.
In addition to impacting children's physical activity levels, sleep deprivation can cause hyperactivity, lower IQ scores and produce adverse hormonal changes like those associated with increased risks of obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
The Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth were developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, the Conference Board of Canada, HALO-CHEO, ParticipACTION and the Public Health Agency of Canada, with input from research experts and stakeholders across Canada and around the world.
To download the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card Highlight Report, including the Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth, or the full 76-page Report, please visit www.participactionreportcard.com
Quick Facts
- The Public Health Agency of Canada invested $443,390 in the Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth. The Public Health Agency of Canada makes annual investments in innovative partnerships and projects to promote healthy living and help prevent chronic diseases, injuries and obesity.
- The Department of Canadian Heritage, through Sport Canada, fosters more active and inclusive communities through bilateral sport and recreation agreements with all 13 provinces and territories, support for a broad range of national sport and recreation organizations, and new investments in sport and recreation infrastructure announced in the last federal budget.
- Nearly one in three children in Canada are overweight or obese. Obesity increases the chances of developing a chronic disease, such as Type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease later in life.
Quotes
"For children and youth to be in optimal health, they need to sweat, step, sleep and sit the right amounts. This is why the Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth are so important. As the world's first evidence-based guidelines, they will help parents and policy-makers alike by providing clear guidance on what a healthy 24 hour period looks like for kids. I'm proud of our work with ParticipACTION and other partners to make Canada a leader on this front."
The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health
"Creating a love of physical activity and sport in our young people as part of a balanced lifestyle is critical to fostering more active and inclusive communities. Through quality sport experiences for everyone that focus on physical literacy - coordination, flexibility, and most importantly fun - we will instill a life-long love of movement that will have countless benefits for Canadians' physical, mental and social well-being."
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
"Sleep deprivation is becoming a problem for Canadian children and youth, creating an insidious threat to their mental and physical health. It's time to take a whole day approach - many kids are too tired to get enough physical activity during the day, and not active enough to be tired at night - it's a vicious cycle."
Dr. Mark Tremblay, Chief Scientific Officer, ParticipACTION Report Card and Director of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute's Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (CHEO-HALO)
"Our tendency may be to cram more into each day to wear kids out, but a full schedule of activities doesn't necessarily equal more physical activity. It's time for a wake-up call. If we want to improve sleep in our kids, we need to get them off the couch and away from their screens with regular, heart-pumping activity."
Elio Antunes, President and CEO, ParticipACTION
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