Exercise and sleep behaviour A questionnaire approach

This study investigated the effects of daily physical activity levels, including the time of day when the activity was taken and subject fitness, upon sleep behaviour using questionnaires. Three questionnaires were designed, namely a subject screening questionnaire and pre-sleep and post-sleep questionnaires. The pre-sleep questionnaire was completed immediately before the subjects retired to bed and was used to record their daily activity levels and to assess pre-sleep tiredness. The post-sleep questionnaire was designed to obtain information concerning the quantity and quality of sleep as well as post-sleep tiredness. Eighty volunteers were selected, following screening for ill-health and sleeping problems, and were asked to complete the sleep questionnaires for seven consecutive days. Fifty-one returned their questionnaires and a total of 332 days of data were used for analysis. Subjects were enlisted from sports centres, and all reported a measurable degree of variation in their daily activity levels during the course of the week. The findings indicated that variations in the daily activity level do not have any major effect upon the tiredness and sleep variables assessed. Time of day of activity was found to have little influence upon these variables, except that the bedtime was delayed by late evening activity. The findings did suggest, however, that fit subjects appear either to need less sleep, or to sleep more efficiently than unfit subjects.