Assessment of physical activity and sleep disorders in non-medical students

Abstract

Background: Sleep disorder is a usual complaint of general population. Sleep disorders can affect college students’ educational functioning, mood, cognition, and self-esteem negatively. Different studies have various opinions about the effects of exercise and physical activity on sleep quality. The aim of the current study was to assess sleep status in non-medical students. Methods: This was an analytic cross-sectional study conducted on 250 non-medical students in Yazd University, Iran, during 2016-17. 25 students were chosen randomly of each of 10 different non-medical majors and filled the Iranian version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. Findings: Participants had mean age of 19.95 ± 1.65 years. 129 cases (51.6) were boys and 121 cases (48.4) were girls. There was no significant association between sleep disorders and body activity in studied population (P = 0.250). Girls’ Body activity was significantly less than boys’ (P < 0.001). Sleep disorder severity was not significantly different between the two genders (P = 0.065). Body activity and sleep disorders severity were significantly different in various majors (P = 0.013 and P = 0.004, respectively). Conclusion: Results of current study show that the rate of sleep disorder does not have significant association with physical activity. In addition, the rate of sleep disorders is not significantly different between boys and girls. Rate of physical activity and sleep disorder severity were significantly different among various non-medical majors. © 2017, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.