Exercise and Sleep Quality among College Students

Background: College students are a specific population that does not get enough sleep; their sleep is disrupted, due to the change of their lifestyle. Sleep plays important roles and is essential to a healthy lifestyle for normal functioning of the human body. Accordingly, disturbed sleep impairs a student`s academic achievements and increases the tendency towards stress and depression. Exercise as well as well-being are also essential for a healthy lifestyle, and are affected by quality of sleep. This study aims to examine the quality of sleep as well as the well-being of college students according to their amount of exercise, their field of study and their academic school year.

Methods: The study consisted of 367 college students from different academic disciplines. The students submitted a questionnaire via Google Forms relating to the amount of exercise they engage in, sleep quality and well-being.

Results: It was found that Physical Education students exercise more (4.8 compared to 2.7; p0.001). Their sleep quality is better compared to students from other disciplines (score of 2.72 compared to 2.96, p0.05). A correlation was found between well-being and quality of sleep (Pearson correlation (-0.324), p0.001). In addition, the sleep quality of freshmen students who exercise more is better (score of 5.33 compared to 4.85, p=0.002).

Conclusion: In order to improve sleep quality for college students, it is recommended to increase the level of their weekly exercise, especially in their first year of study, and especially those who are not used to exercising regularly.