Sleep quality and regular physical activity in reducing cardiac risk

Background Adolescents with sedentary behavior, spending many hours in front of the television and electronic devices, develop early involvement of cardiovascular disease and obesity. These sedentary behaviors increased significantly in this age group during the pandemic of 2020/2021. Sleep directly influences aspects of health, such as blood pressure and cardiac autonomic balance and exercise has a protective effect on these same physiological parameters. Objective This study aimed to examine whether or not physically active adolescents positively influence HRV and cardiovascular parameters despite poor sleep quality. Methods This is an analytic and transversal study. Sleep quality, physical activity levels, blood pressure, and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured. Two-way ANOVA and Tuckey post hoc test evaluated the difference between groups. Results Among 352 adolescents entrolled, mean age was 15.8 ± 0.24 years. It was observed that compared to the physically active group with poor sleep quality, the sedentary poor sleep quality group presented a more significant deficit in blood pressure and autonomic parameters such as pNN50, SD1, and HF. Conclusion Adolescents who practiced physical activity regularly have shown better HRV and sleep quality compared with sedentary adolescents.