The Annual Rhythms in Sleep, Sedentary Behavior, and Physical Activity of Australian Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity have fundamental impacts on health and well-being. Little is known about how these behaviors vary across the year.Purpose To investigate how movement-related behaviors change across days of the week and seasons, and describe movement patterns across a full year and around specific temporal events.Methods This cohort study included 368 adults (mean age = 40.2 years [SD = 5.9]) who wore Fitbit activity trackers for 12 months to collect minute-by-minute data on sleep, sedentary behavior, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Data were analyzed descriptively, as well as through multilevel mixed-effects linear regression to explore associations with specific temporal cycles (day-of-the-week, season) and events.Results Movement patterns varied significantly by day-of-the-week and season, as well as during annual events like Christmas-New Year and daylight saving time (DST) transitions. For example, sleep was longer on weekends (+32 min/day), during autumn and winter relative to summer (+4 and +11 min/day), and over Christmas-New Year (+24 min/day). Sedentary behavior was longer on weekdays, during winter, after Christmas-New Year, and after DST ended (+45, +7, +12, and +8 min/day, respectively). LPA was shorter in autumn, winter, and during and after Christmas-New Year (-6, -15, -17, and -31 min/day, respectively). Finally, there was less MVPA on weekdays and during winter (-5 min/day and -2 min/day, respectively).Conclusions Across the year, there were notable variations in movement behaviors. Identifying high-risk periods for unfavorable behavior changes may inform time-targeted interventions and health messaging. Sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity have fundamental impacts on health and well-being, yet little is known about how these behaviors vary across the year. This study investigated how these behaviors change across days of the week, seasons, and a year, and around specific temporal events. The study included 368 middle-aged adults who wore Fitbit activity trackers for 12 months to collect minute-by-minute movement data. Statistical analyses showed movement patterns varied significantly by day-of-the-week and season, as well as during annual events like Christmas-New Year and daylight saving time transitions. For example, sleep was longer on weekends, during autumn and winter relative to summer, and over Christmas-New Year. Sedentary behavior was longer on weekdays, during winter, after Christmas-New Year, and after daylight savings time ended. Light physical activity was shorter in autumn, winter, and during and after Christmas-New Year. Finally, there was less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on weekdays and during winter. Across the year, there were notable variations in movement patterns. Identifying high-risk periods for unfavorable behavior changes may inform time-targeted interventions and health messaging.