SUNRISE Finland Main Study

The SUNRISE Finland main study examines the 24-hour movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary time and sleep), as well as motor and cognitive skills (working memory and executive function) of children aged 3–4 years. In addition, factors possibly associated with children's movement behaviours (including socio-demographic factors, residence, education and parental health behaviour and mental health) are examined.

Children's measurements in daycare centers

All measurements and tests are performed together with a member of a trained research team, prioritizing the child's comfort and enjoyment of light-hearted tests. The measurements last a total of about 20-40 minutes per child. The child can stop the measurements at any time. The measurements do not involve higher risks than normal everyday life.

Motor skills

Gross motor skills
Supine-timed up and go (STuG) test: The child lies on a mattress on their back, heels behind the marked line. On the given signal, the child gets up, runs behind a line three meters away and back.

Standing on one leg: The child stands on one leg for as long as possible (up to 30 seconds), keeping their hands free.

Speedless long jump: The child jumps forward from the marked line with both feet at the same time, as far as possible, landing on both feet. 

Handgrip strength test: The child squeezes the grip of a dynamometer designed for children with each hand continuously with full force for at least 3 seconds.

Fine motor skills

Pegboard: The child places the pegs on the board one at a time and then removes the pegs from the board as quickly as possible (the test is performed separately for each hand).

Cognitive skills

Visuospatial working memory
Mr. Ant iPad Game: The child tries to memorise and recall the locations of the colourful stickers that appear on different parts of the body of a cartoon ant character.

Inhibition
Go / NoGo iPad Game: The child tries to catch fish while avoiding touching sharks appearing on the screen.

Anthropometry

The child's height, weight and waist circumference are measured.

Physical activity, sedentary and sleep

Accelerometers that measure the child's physical activity are placed on the child's wrist (bell-shaped gauge) and waist (gauge attached with an elastic band). These are applied in the day-care centre on the day of the measurement and the children keep them on for seven days, including while sleeping. The accelerometer at the waist is removed during water-based activities, showering, bathing and sauna, and the meter on the wrist is removed only when going to the sauna. 

Questionnaires for caregivers

The parents/caregivers participating in the study fill in 1-2 questionnaires. The questionnaires include questions on e.g., sociodemographic background information (age, education, income, residence, family composition), health behaviour of the parent/caregiver (physical activity, use of digital media, circadian rhythm), as well as information on the child's appetite, use of digital media and time spent in nature. The questionnaires take about 15-20 minutes to complete each of them. In total, it takes about 45 to 60 minutes to complete both questionnaires.

The questionnaires also include some parts on mental health-related symptoms and mental well-being. We ask about different negative and positive feelings through commonly used surveys.

Questionnaires for mental well-being

The questionnaires measure the incidence of symptoms from the topics below.

Depressive symptoms questionnaire – Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) – to survey the incidence of depressive symptoms during the last week

Anxiety symptoms questionnaire – Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) ­– to survey the incidence of anxiety symptoms during the last two weeks

Stress symptoms questionnaire – Perceived stress scale (PSS-10) ­– to find out to what extent life situations were considered stressful during the last month

Insomnia symptoms survey – Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) – to survey sleep difficulties experienced during the previous two weeks

Smartphone use questionnaire – No Mobile Phone Phobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) – surveys feelings of discomfort, nervousness and anxiety due to the unavailability of a smartphone

Social media use questionnaire – Social Media Self-control Failure (SMSCF) – evaluates self-regulation of social media use

Happiness questionnaire – Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) – evaluates the experience of happiness.

Questionnaires about the child

Questionnaire of a child's physical condition - International Fitness Scale for Children (IFIS-child) parent / guardian assesses a child's physical condition.

Child Insomnia Symptoms Survey - Pediatric Insomnia Severity Index (PISI) parent / guardian evaluates a child’s insomnia symptoms.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent/guardian assesses a child’s emotional symptoms, conduct problems, inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behaviour, and whether these affect a child’s life. 

Environmental features

Based on address information and the location of the day-care of children participating in the study, we examine how the environment affects children's physical activity. The GIS (Geographic Information System) is used in the analyses in cooperation with the University of Oulu. It defines various features of the environment, such as the natural and built environment. For example, the amount of greenery in a residential and day-care environment can be measured using spatial data methods.

Further research

Registry studies

Data will be retrieved from the national registers at a later date with the permission of the authorities to supplement the data collected in the study. Background information of children and parents (e.g., education and place of residence) as well as health-related information (e.g., illnesses) can be obtained from the following registrars: Digital and Population Information Agency, Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Registry research will be announced in more detail by e-mail and on the study website when they are ongoing. You have the right to refuse to participate in registry studies.

Follow-up studies

Invitations to follow-up studies may be sent to parents and children who participated in the study at a later date. Follow-up studies examine children's movement behavior when they are older (e.g., school age). You have the right to refuse to participate in registry studies.