Prevalence of Sedentary Behavior and Sleep Duration amongFirst Saudi Female Physical Education Teachers

The aim of this study was to assess sedentary behavior (SB) and sleep duration in Saudi female physical education (PE) teachers. A unique group of 48 Saudi female PE teachers (mean ± SD, age, 25.3 ± 0.91 years; body mass, 61.2 ± 12.2 kg; height, 160.6 ± 5.5 cm) participated in this study. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess SB activities (time spent watching television, playing electronic games, and using the Internet) and sleep duration during the week and at weekends. The cut-off point of ≥ 2 h/day was used to categorize the outcome. Inadequate sleep duration was defined as < 7 h/night. The results showed that the mean (± SD) total screen time among Saudi female PE teachers was 448.0 ± 215.5 (min/day). The proportion of Saudi female teachers who spent > 2 h/day engaged in screened-based SB was 97.9%. Internet use was the predominant type of sedentary activity among Saudi female PE teachers (277.3 ± 161.8 min/day), followed by time spent playing electronic games (101.8 ± 109.6 min/day). The mean (± SD) sleep durations during the week and at the weekend were 6.6 ± 1.6 and 7.8 ± 1.5 h/night, respectively. The weekday and weekend sleep duration analysis also showed that 52.1% and 20.4% of Saudi female teachers had insufficient sleep (< 7 h/night) during the week and at weekends, respectively. No statistically significant associations were found between total or other types of SB and sleep duration. We concluded that the vast majority of Saudi female PE teachers were sedentary and had insufficient sleep duration throughout the weekdays, for which they compensated at the weekend. The combined effects of prolonged SB and insufficient sleep duration may put Saudi female PE teachers at high risk of several diseases and mortality.