Physical activity and morningness: A helpful combination in improving the sleep quality of active Italian university students

ABSTRACT

University students are commonly described as having worsened sleep quality, especially when inactive and Evening-type (E-type) subjects. This study aimed to examine the interactions between physical activity and chronotype on sleep quality among a sample of active Sports Science university students. In November 2019, 433 participants (mean age: 19.7 ± 1.56 years; 70% males) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (tertiles categorisation), and the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. Females and E-type slept significantly worse than males and Neither-(N-types) and Morning-types (M-types), respectively. However, there were no significant differences in sleep quality based on physical activity levels. The three-way ANOVA revealed that sleep quality in N- and E-types appeared to be independent of physical activity, whereas M-types showed an improvement in sleep classification with increased physical activity. Moderation analysis indicated that physical activity significantly moderated the relationship between chronotypes and sleep quality. Specifically, M-types demonstrated a more pronounced improvement in sleep quality with increasing physical activity compared to the other chronotypes. In conclusion, M-type university students derived the greatest benefits from physical activity in improving sleep quality. Conversely, physical activity seemed to have a limited impact on sleep quality among active E-type university students.

KEYWORDS:

• Chronotype
• circadian typology
• morningness/eveningness
• physical activity
• sleep
• sports science students
• exercise
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and express their gratitude to all the students who willingly participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.