Degree Name

BA

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

College

Life Sciences

Defense Date

2026-04-17

Publication Date

2026-06-17

First Faculty Advisor

James LeCheminant

First Faculty Reader

Brian Allen

Honors Coordinator

David Jarvis

Keywords

Sleep duration, body mass index (BMI), body composition, occupational health, accelerometry, and brick kiln workers

Abstract

Sleep is a critical determinant of metabolic health, with extensive evidence linking insufficient and fragmented sleep to increased adiposity and obesity risk in high-income populations. However, these relationships remain poorly understood in labor-intensive, low-income occupational settings. This study examined associations between objectively measured sleep characteristics using accelerometry and body composition among a population of Nepalese brick workers, a group of people exposed to substantial environmental and occupational stressors.

A secondary cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 233 adult brick workers in the Nepal Kathmandu valley. Sleep metrics – including total sleep, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and number of awakenings – were assessed using wrist-worn accelerometry devices. Anthropometric measures included body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage obtained via bioelectrical impedance analysis. Pearson correlation analyses were performed for the full cohort and stratified by gender.

Participants averaged 381 ± 191 minutes of sleep per night, with high variability and substantial sleep fragmentation. Strong correlations were observed among sleep fragmentation variables. However, sleep metrics were not significantly associated with BMI or body fat percentage in the full cohort or in gender-stratified analyses.

These findings contrast with established literature which link poor sleep to increased adiposity and suggest that sleep-metabolic relationships may differ in physically demanding, resource-limited environments. High occupational physical activity, environmental exposures, and constrained nutritional intake may modify or attenuate these associations. This study highlights the importance of examining sleep and metabolic health in diverse global populations and suggests that existing models may not fully generalize labor-intensive occupational settings.

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