Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the physical activity level of university students during exam week and to investigate the relationship between physical activity level and the severity of fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety.

Methods: Volunteers aged 18-30 years, studying in health sciences, were included in the study. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form, fatigue was assessed using a visual analog scale, sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and anxiety was assessed using the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Results: The mean age and body mass index of the 92 students included in the study were 21.1±2.0 years and 22.0±3.5 kg/m2, respectively. Among the students, 38% were inactive, 56.6% were minimally active, and 5.4% were in the highly active physical activity category. There was a moderate negative correlation between IPAQ scores and fatigue (-0.449, p<0.001). Additionally, there was a moderate negative correlation between IPAQ scores and PSQI scores (-0.426, p=0.002), a moderate negative correlation between IPAQ scores and STAI-State (-0.435, p=0.001), and a weak negative correlation between IPAQ scores and STAI-Trait scores (-0.362, p=0.003).

Conclusion: Physical activity levels were found to be lower among university students during exam week compared to those reported in the literature. Additionally, as physical activity levels increased, fatigue and anxiety levels decreased and sleep quality improved. Encouraging university students to maintain adequate physical activity during exam week may be beneficial for improving fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, exam, fatigue, physical activity, sleep quality, university students

Copyright and license

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article published by Bolu İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Baran E, Yılmaz A. The relationship between physical activity, fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety levels of students during the university examination period. Northwestern Med J. 2025;5(1):39-45. https://doi.org/10.54307/2025.NWMJ.143

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