SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2026
Effects of physical activity on sleep in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Digital health interventions for promoting physical activity among adolescents: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Relationships between Musculoskeletal Disorders, Sleep Impairment, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness among Adolescents Aged 15-19 Years in Douala, Cameroon: A Cross-sectional Study.International journal of school health · 2026Article
- How universal quality standards in intervention meta-analyses favor evidence from medical over psychosocial studies.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Sleep problems are common among children and adolescents; however, the potential role of exercise in mitigating these issues is often overlooked. To examine the relationship between exercise interventions and sleep parameters in children and adolescents. The review adhered to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on 8 databases from inception to February 2025. Randomised controlled trials of children and adolescents aged 6-18 years who applied exercise interventions and reported at least one sleep parameter were included. Data include participant characteristics, intervention details, and sleep parameter. Evidence quality graded by GRADE. 27 studies were used for meta-analysis. The results of the studies showed that exercise had a significant effect on sleep quality (standardized mean difference [SMD] =-1.06; 95% CI=-1.76 to -0.36), sleep efficiency (SMD=-2.17; 95% CI=-3.69 to -0.65), sleep duration (SMD=-0.70; 95% CI=-1.27 to -0.13), wake after sleep onset (SMD=-0.53; 95% CI=-0.91 to -0.15), sleep anxiety (SMD=-0.54; 95% CI=-0.98 to -0.10), sleep resistance (SMD=-0.33; 95% CI=-0.75 to -0.10), sleep latency (SMD=-1.05; 95% CI=-3.29 to 1.19), parasomnias (SMD=-0.67; 95% CI=-1.74 to 0.40), sleep onset delay (SMD=-0.30; 95% CI=-0.60 to -0.00), sleep-disordered breathing (SMD=-0.19; 95% CI=-0.50 to 0.13), and daytime dysfunction (SMD=-0.30; 95% CI=- 0.72 to 0.11) had an effect, but not on total sleep time (SMD = 0.02; 95% CI=-0.23 to 0.27). The findings emphasize the role of exercise in sleep among children and adolescents. Exercise interventions balancing effectiveness and efficiency may serve as an additional approach to sleep issues beyond sleep hygiene education.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.