The Relationship between Vigorous Physical Activities and Sleep Duration - Essay Example

? Physical Activity, Sleep; Final Term Paper of the of the The research was conducted to identify the relationship between vigorous physical activities and sleep duration amongst students of Long Beach Public University. The study was conducted amongst male and female students. Participants were graduate and under graduate students with most being under graduates. In order to identify the relationship between MVPA and sleep duration between two genders, the researcher conducted cross sectional quantitative survey in which 160 participants were identified. These participants were offered pen and paper questionnaires in order to share their views on the relationship between physical activities and sleep duration. The measures used in the survey were sleeping pattern, physical activities and demographic factors. Sleeping pattern aimed at identifying the sleeping behaviour of students, physical activities aimed at identifying the level of physical activities and its impact on the sleeping behaviour while demographic factors aimed at identifying the age, gender and education level of participants. In order to identify the relationship between sleeping behaviour and physical activities statistical analysis was conducted using mean, standard deviation and frequency percentages. To identify the difference in gender’s sleep duration t-test was performed while in order to identify the relationship between sleeping behaviour and physical activities, multiple regression analysis was conducted using covariates of genders. The t-test revealed that there was no significant difference between the sleep duration of two genders. The multiple regression analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between physical activities and sleep duration with p=.131. On the basis of the above results, it was concluded that there was no significant relationship between the sleeping behaviour and MVPA amongst male and female students. In order to identify the relationship between these two variables, it was recommended to have a large same size. The Effectiveness of Exercise on Sleeping Pattern among Students Community The discussion outlines the gender differences in sleep duration and the relationship between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sleep duration. Every human being has a different body and thus different physical attributes (Craig, et al, 2003). The study demonstrates the relationship between physical activities and sleep duration as exhaustion often demands for physical rest and sleep is considered as the best way of offering some rest to the body (Wolfson, et al, 2003). In order to underpin the proposed idea, research was conducted at the Long Beach Public University and participants were graduate and under-graduate students. The research was conducted in a coherent manner citing the objective and hypotheses in an illustrative way along with defining research methods and results in a significant and descriptive manner. The importance of the study lies in identifying the impact and influence of physical activities on graduate and under graduate students. Rigorous mental pressure embedded with stringent routine often affects the health behaviour of students and when physical activities are includes, it affects the overall sleeping behaviour. As per the research conducted by Olds, et al (2010), late bed time and late wake time is associated with unfavorable activities that also affect the physical behaviour and state of individuals. As per Nelson and Larsen (2006), students with high level of physical activities tend to be more active and agile. Furthermore, they experience very little health risks. Sleep plays an important role in enhancing the health of students and with physical activities and positive sleeping behaviour, students tend to be healthier. Research conducted by Foti, et al (2011) on identifying the relationship between physical activities, sedentary behaviour and sleeping behaviour among US high school students revealed that students who engaged in 60 minutes of rigorous physical activities everyday had higher odds of sufficient sleep while students who did not engage in physical activities had lower odds of sufficient sleep. The study was conducted on students studying in grade 9th-12th at the national level where the sample size was (n=14782). Data were from the National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey and were analyzed using logistic regression model. The findings stated that 60 minutes of daily physical activity helps in enhancing the sleeping behaviour in a significant manner. Thus, on the basis of this research, it can be said that there was a positive and significant relationship between sleeping behaviour and physical activities amongst students. This particular discussion outlines this affect and impact by assessing the impact and influence of physical activities on sleeping behaviours of 160 students with 51 male and 109 female students. The above discussed research clearly highlighted that there is a significant relationship between sleeping behaviour and physical activities amongst students. However, it was important to assess this relationship further and this is why further underpinning has been conducted. The sample size of the research conducted at Long Beach High School is quite low compared to research conducted at the national level in the US. The national level survey included large number of samples showing positive relationship between the sleeping behvaiour and physical activities. However, the same cannot be said for other research as studies may vary from student to student. The above discussion clearly demonstrates that there may be a relationship between physical activities and sleeping behaviour of students. In order to understand and identify this relationship, the following hypotheses were tested in a logical and coherent way. H1: There is no impact of moderate vigorous physical activity on sleeping behaviour H2: It was hypothesized that sleep pattern would differ by gender The main reason behind formulating these hypotheses was to assess the difference in results between the sleeping behaviour and physical activities. These hypotheses will be further tested using regression analysis and t-test. Method Participants A total of 160 graduate and undergraduate students were questioned through cross sectional quantitative survey. The mode of sampling was convenience sampling and questions were asked on sleeping patterns, physical activities and demographic factors. Participants were given a pen and paper questionnaires to highlight their views and opinions on time spent on physical activities and total sleep duration. All questionnaires were sealed in order to promote confidentiality. Measures The measures used in the study were sleeping pattern, physical activities and demographic factors. The article written by Wolfson, et al (2003) used to measure these three constructs where they tried to identify the relationship between physical activities and sleeping behaviour between male and female gender amongst the graduate and undergraduate of Long Beach Public University. The quality instrument was based on statistical analysis that was good enough to offer results. Measure One- the first measure was demographic factors. Demographic factors included information on age, gender and education of participants. It also included their ethnicity that was further divided into subheads for a better understanding. The mixture of students based on education level was categorized into the college of study as HHS and others due to small numbers. The researcher also collected information on major ethnicities but due to small numbers across the categories, they were divided into Asian, Latino, Caucasian and others. Measure-2- the second measure was physical activities. This showed the impact and influence of physical activities on sleeping behaviours and examples provided were more useful and relevant to the study of college students Measure-3- the third measure was sleeping behvaiour. It showed the sleeping behaviour and pattern of participants based on the impact of moderate vigorous physical activities. Procedure The procedure for the survey was based on collecting verbal consent from participants along with handling them the data collection script. The researcher handed the script to the known participants. Students were asked to complete the survey in one day and they were successful in doing so. There was no need for the IRB approval as this was a class project. The anonymity of the survey was disclosed beforehand and participants consented verbally to the anonymous survey. Statistical Analysis Statistical analysis was important to present data and information in a quantitative manner and for this purpose SPSS 17 software was used to analyze data and information. To analyze the demographic factors, descriptive statistics were conducted using mean, standard deviation frequency and percentages. To test the gender differences in sleep duration, an independent- samples t-test was performed. For identifying the relationship between physical activities and sleeping behavior multiple regressions was conducted with covariates of genders. It can be assumed that the statistical analysis was robust and logical enough to offer outcomes and conclusions. Descriptive statistics offered an idea over the age; gender and education level of students that further helped in identifying mean, standard deviation and frequency percentages in a logical manner. All these statistical tools offered great insights on testing the formulated hypotheses in a significant manner. The next part of the discussion presents an understanding over the results based on the analysis of the relationship between physical activities and sleeping behaviour based on the above discussed statistical tools. Results Table-1: Demographic Descriptive Statistics Variable n % Age 24.4 5.017 Female 109 68.1% Male 51 31.9% Ethnicity Asian 30 (18.8%) Hispanic 47 (29.4%) Others 39 (24.4%) White 42 (26.3%) Undergraduates 71 (44.4%) Graduates 88 (55%) *HHS 99 (61.9%) Others 58 (36.3%) *Note: n= 160 HHS- Health and Human Services Results have been shown in the columnar table where, Table 1 highlights the descriptive statistic for the sample. The statistics show that average age of college students is (24.44) and standard deviation of 5.017 clearly states that data points are tightly clustered. The study included 51 male students and 109 female students. The study reveals that large numbers of participants were Latino (29.4%) (n-47) and Caucasian (26.3%) (n=42) with others being (24.4%). Statistics reveal that there were 55% of graduates while only 44% of undergraduate students. This can be considered as a balanced mixture of graduates and undergraduates. Statistics revealed that 61.9% of students were from Health and Human Services while 36.3% of students were from other colleges. This shows that majority of students from the college of Health and Human Services. Table-2: Difference Table for Sleep Duration Mean (SD) Sleep Duration 8.1 1.19 MVPA 5.84 6.75 Age 24.4 5.02 _______________________________________________________________ Results showed that there was no significant relationship between males and females in terms of sleep duration. Table-2 states that there was no significant relationship between the sleeping behaviour of males and females by demonstrating the mean and standard deviation for the two genders. The sleep duration was (Mean- 8.1083 and Standard Deviation- 1.1961) Results were shown using descriptive and inferential statistics. Inferential statistics are used to make generalized statements about a population based on the collected samples. There was no statistical difference between the sleep duration of two genders considering the mean= SD= (m=8.0303), (sd=.9205) for males and (m=8.1452), (sd=1.3048) for females and p=.524. There was not a statistical significant difference between MVPA and sleeping duration (p=.131). The average amount of sleep for college students at night was 8.1 with a slight variation of 1.19. The average amount of physical activity amongst students was 5.84 hours during a week with a standard deviation spread of 6.75 hours. The next part of the discussion presents an insight over the analysis of data and information that will help in ascertaining the relationship between sleep duration, genders and activities during the week. Analysis Based on regression and Anova analysis, results were concluded in a logical way. The results state that both male and female students have similar level of sleep at night (8.03 for male students and 8.15 for female students). Sleep duration was a strong measure of quality measuring (r.524; p=.05). Results showed that there was a weak relationship between gender, sleep duration and activities during the week (r-.275). Furthermore, there was a very little correlation between sleep duration and activities during the week considering (r=1.31). On the other hand, there was a significant correlation between the genders and sleep duration (r=.8). Discussion Ginter, et al (1997) stated that quality sleep is very important to remain healthy along with performing physical activities. The discussion clearly highlighted the fact that there was no significant relationship between the sleeping behaviour and MVPA of males and females. However, the research conducted by Foti, et al (2011) revealed that there is a significant relationship between physical activities and sleeping behaviour of students. The present analysis of the research was based on ascertaining the relationship between MVPA and sleeping behaviour among students driven by pre existing results showing positive relationship and results. Limitations The analysis of the research is based on data collected from 160 students that cannot be considered as a large sample size. This can be considered as the limitation of the research. There is no doubt that statistical tool like t-test, regression analysis and descriptive analysis helped in ascertaining the overall relationship between sleeping behaviour and physical activities. However, the low sample size limited the scope of the research. Final Conclusion On the basis of results, the hypothesis that stated, sleep duration will be varied by gender has been rejected. Moreover, with no significant results on the relationship of MVPA and sleeping behaviour, the second hypothesis has also been rejected. It can be said that the sample size was that not that large to offer significant results and outcomes. Overall, there was no significant relationship between the sleeping behaviour and physical activities among the two genders at Long Beach High School. Future Directions For the future research, large sample size can be taken along with exploring different schools in a systematic manner. This will help in identifying the relationship between sleeping pattern, physical activities and genders in a logical and significant manner. At the same time, data from different schools and colleges will help in exploring the relationship between physical activities and sleeping behaviour in a logical and coherent way. References Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjostrom, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., Oja, P. (2003). International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise, 35, 1381-1395. Foti, K; Eaton, D; Lowry, L; McKnight-Ely, L (2011). Sufficient Sleep, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behaviors. Pediatrics 2011; 112:1321– 6. Ginter, D., Pilcher, J., Sadowsky, B. (1997). Sleep quality versus sleep quantity: Relationships between sleep and measures of health, well-being and sleepiness in college students. Journal Psychosomatic Research, 42, 583-596. Nelson, M, Larsen, G (2006). Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns Are Associated with Selected Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors, Retrieved from World Wide Web http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/4/1281.full.pdf Olds, T, Maher, C and Matricciani,L (2010). Sleep Duration or Bedtime? Exploring the Relationship between Sleep Habits and Weight Status and Activity Patterns, Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.1; 34(10): 1299–1307. Wolfson, A. R., Carskadon, M. A., Acebo, C., Seifer, R., Fallone, G., Labyak, S.E. & Martin, J.L. (2003). Evidence for the validity of a sleep habits survey for adolescents. Sleep, 26(2), 213-216. Appendix Table-1: Demographic Descriptive Statistics Variable n % Age 24.4 5.017 Female 109 68.1% Male 51 31.9% Ethnicity Asian 30 (18.8%) Hispanic 47 (29.4%) Others 39 (24.4%) White 42 (26.3%) Undergraduates 71 (44.4%) Graduates 88 (55%) *HHS 99 (61.9%) Others 58 (36.3%) Table-2: Difference Table for Sleep Duration Mean (SD) Sleep Duration 8.1 1.19 MVPA 5.84 6.75 Age 24.4 5.02 _______________________________________________________________ Read More