🎯 Título: Sueño, sedentarismo y salud mental en atletas adolescentes
📌 En breve: Más horas de sueño y menos tiempo sedentario se asociaron con mejor salud mental en atletas adolescentes chinos, aunque la actividad física intensa mostró un efecto mixto: menos ansiedad pero más fatiga mental.
🔬 Puntos clave:
### El estudio
136 atletas adolescentes (12-17 años) de una escuela deportiva en China usaron acelerómetros para medir actividad física moderada-vigorosa (MVPA), actividad ligera, sedentarismo y sueño durante 24 horas, junto con cuestionarios de ansiedad, fatiga mental y síntomas psicológicos.
### Qué se asoció con mejor salud mental
Más horas de sueño se asociaron con menor ansiedad, menor fatiga mental y menos síntomas psicológicos (todas las asociaciones significativas). Más tiempo sedentario se asoció con peores resultados en las tres medidas.
### Un hallazgo mixto sobre el ejercicio intenso
Más actividad física moderada-vigorosa se asoció con menor ansiedad y menos síntomas psicológicos, pero sorprendentemente también con mayor fatiga mental —un resultado que sugiere que más no siempre es mejor para el descanso mental del atleta joven.
🎯 Aplicación clínica para LATAM: Escuelas deportivas y academias juveniles en la región deberían priorizar el sueño y reducir el tiempo sedentario como estrategias de salud mental, y vigilar signos de fatiga mental en atletas con cargas de entrenamiento muy altas, no asumir que más entrenamiento siempre mejora el bienestar psicológico.
⚠ Limitaciones: Es un estudio transversal (una sola medición), por lo que no permite establecer causalidad, solo asociación estadística entre estos comportamientos y la salud mental.
Background
Adolescent athletes are exposed to high training loads and competitive pressure, which may increase the risk of psychological problems such as sport-related cognitive trait anxiety, mental fatigue, and other psychological symptoms. Understanding how 24-h movement behaviors-including moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep (SLP)-are associated with psychological outcomes is important for developing effective strategies to promote mental health in this population.
Objective
This study aimed to examine the associations between 24-h movement behavior and sport-related cognitive trait anxiety, mental fatigue, and psychological symptoms among adolescent athletes, and to estimate model-based associations of time reallocation among these behaviors using a compositional isotemporal substitution approach.
Materials and methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 136 adolescent athletes aged 12-17 years (69 males and 67 females) recruited from Wuhan Water Sports School in China. Twenty-four-hour movement behaviors, including MVPA, LPA, SB, and SLP, were objectively measured using triaxial accelerometers. Sport-related cognitive trait anxiety, mental fatigue, and psychological symptoms were assessed using the Cognitive Trait Anxiety Inventory for Athletes (CCTAI), the Athlete Mental Fatigue Scale, and the Athlete Psychological Symptoms Scale, respectively. Isotemporal substitution models were applied to examine the associations between time reallocation among 24-h movement behaviors and psychological outcomes.
Results
SLP was negatively associated with sport-related cognitive trait anxiety, mental fatigue, and psychological symptoms (β = -2.357, p = 0.020; β = -2.349, p = 0.021; β = -2.265, p = 0.027). SB showed positive associations with sport-related cognitive trait anxiety, mental fatigue, and psychological symptoms (β = 1.863, p = 0.034; β = 1.722, p = 0.040; β = 1.663, p = 0.047). MVPA was negatively associated with cognitive trait anxiety and psychological symptoms (β = -1.831, p = 0.037; β = -1.662, p = 0.049), but positively associated with mental fatigue (β = 1.674, p = 0.045). In addition, LPA was negatively associated with mental fatigue (β = -1.669, p = 0.043).
Conclusion
24-h movement behaviors were closely associated with psychological health among adolescent athletes. Reallocating time from SB to SLP may be associated with better psychological well-being. Schools, coaches, and parents should pay greater attention to the comprehensive influence of daily movement behavior patterns on the mental health of adolescent athletes.
Cómo citar:
Song Y, Liu M, Xu C. (2026).
Associations of 24-h movement behavior with mental health in adolescent athletes: a compositional isotemporal substitution analysis.. Frontiers in public health.
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1852839 ↗ PMID: 42293595 ↗ Acceso al paper: Ver completo ↗
