Relationship between diet, sleep, and motivation for physical exercise in students: cross-sectional study

Introduction: Scientific evidence suggests that eating habits, sleeping habits, and motivation to participate in sports are interconnected, strongly influencing the development of adolescents. Objective: To analyze the relationship between sociodemographic variables, eating habits, sleep habits, and motivation for sports practice in primary and secondary school students. Method: This is a quantitative, exploratory, descriptive, and correlational study with a cross-sectional design. Results: The questionnaires showed adequate reliability. It was found that 47.7% of the participants reported that it usually took more than 20 minutes to fall asleep. The results reveal a relationship between eating habits, sleeping habits, and motivation to practice sports, with statistical differences for the variables gender, level of education, and practice of federated sports (p < 0.001). The girls reveal healthier eating habits, while boys show greater motivation to practice sports. Students in basic education have less motivation for physical exercise and worse eating habits. Conclusion: The physical education teacher proves to be an important factor for the development of strategies that encourage the practice of sports and the promotion of healthy eating and sleep patterns. Partnerships between educational institutions and sports clubs should promote equality by encouraging boys and girls to practice regular physical activity.