Abstract
Sleep quality, physical activity, and their association with academic performance have been studied in nursing and medical students. However, the results have been inconsistent, with some studies finding that sleep quality and physical activity are associated with academic performance and others finding they are not associated. Few studies, including a diverse student population and/or kinesiology college students exist. The purpose of this study was to assess the sleep quality, physical activity (PA) level, and academic performance of kinesiology students to observe the relationship between these variables. Findings from this study can help students identify two modifiable factors that may affect their academic performance. Institutions of higher education can also use these findings for health promotion campaigns.
Participants were recruited from a kinesiology major class at California State University, Sacramento in Spring 2024. Upon signing the electronic informed consent, participants were emailed a survey to gather demographic, general sleep, and physical activity information. Midterm exam grades were used as the measure of academic performance. PA level was measured weekly over a month using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. The week of the midterm, participants answered the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire. Midterm grades were obtained from the professor. Non-parametric statistical tests ( = .05), including Chi-square to assess frequency distribution, Spearman’s rho for correlation analysis, and Mann-U Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis for mean comparison between groups and sex were used.
Thirty-eight participants (50% male and 50% female) completed the study out of 120 students taking the Kinesiology class. Participants were 42% White, 21% Hispanic, 21% Asian, 3% Black, 3% Middle Eastern, and 10% of mixed race or ethnicity. Twenty-one participants (55%) had poor sleep quality,33 participants (87%) were classified as highly physically active, and five (13%) were moderately physically active according to the American physical activity guidelines. Twenty-three students (60%) achieved high academic performance, nine (24%) had moderate scores, and six (16%) received low scores on the midterm exam. Chi-square analysis revealed no difference in frequency distribution for sleep quality ( 2= 2.661; p= .103), PA level ( 2=.230; p= .631), and academic performance ( 2= 3.836; p=.147) between sexes. There was no difference between physical activity level (H (2) = .206, p= .902) and overall sleep quality (H (2) =2.307, p= .315) among low, moderate, and low academic performers. Correlation analyses revealed no significant association between academic performance and sleep quality (r (38) = .048, p=.613) or between PA level and academic performance (r (38) = .019, p= .544).
Participants had poor sleep quality and high physical activity levels, but overall, no significant associations were found between sleep quality, PA level, and academic performance. Study limitations such as small sample size and short study time frame may have contributed to the limited significance. Future studies should consider longitudinal designs, include a larger sample size, and use both objective and subjective measures of sleep quality and physical activity to assess their contribution to academic performance in a diverse population of college students. Different measures of academic performance should also be used.