Does the poor sleep quality affect the physical activity level, postural stability, and isometric muscle strength in Saudi adolescents? A comparative study

Objectives: To compare physical activity, postural stability, and muscle strength in Saudi adolescents with normal and poor sleep quality. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 62 Saudi adolescents between December 2017 and April 2018 at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Participants were classified into 2 equal groups; one with normal sleep (NS) and the other with poor sleep (PS). TecnoBody balance system was used to measure postural stability, ActiGraph to assess physical activity, and hand dynamometer and pinch gauge to assess hand grip and key pinch strength respectively. Results: At low platform stability, PS group showed poorer postural stability indices than NS group either with eyes opened or closed (p<0.05). ActiGraph data revealed that the physical activity parameters including the total steps count, total activities count, activity rate, and the vigorous activity time were significantly lower in PS group (p<0.05). The PS group had significantly more total sedentary time than the NS group. Muscle strength parameters did not show any significant difference between groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Poor sleep significantly impaired postural stability and physical activity in Saudi adolescents. However, poor sleep had no effect on their isometric muscle strength.