Full project’s name

The Around the Clock Terminology Consortium: A global consensus on terminology to discuss the 24-hour cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep

Logo

Website

Under development.

Principal Investigator

Ryan Stanley Falck

The University of British Columbia, Canada

Timeline

9/2/2024 – 7/31/2026

Other participants

Kirk I. Erickson | AdventHealth Research Institute, Neuroscience Institute | United States of America

Ester Cerin | Australian Catholic University-Melbourne Campus & The University of Hong Kong | Australia & China

Liye Zou | Shenzhen University | China

Ashleigh E. Smith | University of South Australia | Australia

Francisco B. Ortega | University of Granada | Spain

Jennifer C. Davis | University of British Columbia-Okangan Campus | Canada

Jasper Schipperijn | University of Southern Denmark | Denmark

Jannique van Uffelen | KU Leuven | Belgium

António Palmeira | Universidade Lusófona & Universidade do Porto | Portugal

Michelle W. Voss | The University of Iowa | United States of America

David W. Dunstan | Deakin University & Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute | Australia

Linda C. Li | The University of British Columbia | Canada

Jairo H. Migueles | University of Granada | Spain

Nucharapon Liangruenrom | Mahidol University | Thailand

Guilherme Moraes Balbim| The University of British Columbia | Canada

Jennifer R. Tomasone | Queen’s University | Canada

Matthew N. Ahmadi | University of Sydney | Australia

Karen Spruyt | Université de Paris | France

Frank Hookin Fu | Hong Kong Baptist University | China

Lora Giangregorio | University of Waterloo | Canada

Zhaowei Kong | University of Macau | China

Sjaan R. Gomersall | The University of Queensland | Australia

Jean-Phillipe Chaput | University of Ottawa | Canada

Miao Miao | Peking University | China

Natan Feter | Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, School of Medicine | Brazil

Keerthana Swaminathan | Manipal Academy of Higher Education | India

Robert Schinke | Laurentian University | Canada

Yiqun Gan | Peking University |China

Shigeru Inoue | Tokyo Medical University | Japan

Varadayini Gorhe | MindFirst Performance Psychology | India

Takumi Abe | Meiji University | Japan

Maurelle D’Sa | Edge Hill University | United Kingdom

Yu-Kai Chang | National Taiwan Normal University | Taiwan

Amy Shirong Lu | Northeastern University | United States of America

David Lubans | University of Newcastle & University of Jyväskylä | Australia and Finland

Åsa B Tornberg | Lund University | Sweden

Teresa Liu-Ambrose | The University of British Columbia | Canada

Abstract

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep occupy the 24-hour cycle and are associated with a multitude of health outcomes. As this field of research rapidly increases, a key question emerges: what should we collectively call these behaviours? In September 2024, we established the Around the Clock Terminology Consortium (ACT-C) – an internationally representative group of researchers and key interest-holder organizations to develop a consensus in terminology for the 24-hour cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. We are currently conducting a Delphi consensus project to establish internationally agreed-upon terminology for the 24-hour cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, with the aim of improving future research, public health policy, and practice guidelines. Our efforts will assist policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in aligning strategies and recommendations under a unified terminological framework for the 24-hour day.