Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

This research was conducted in order to determine exercise behaviors and sleep quality of nursing students. The universe of the research which has been conducted as descriptive consisted of nursing students of a university (N=800). Sample group was not selected, 604 students who accepted to attend the research included in the study. Data was collected via a questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Data was analysed by numbers, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t test and one way ANOVA. Mean age of the students was 20.33±1.7 and 67.3% of them had opportunity to exercise, 31.6% of them exercised regularly and 43.0% of who do not exercise stated lack of time as reason for not exercising. Mean score for Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) of all students was 9.91±2.92. Among female students, who were in the first grade, who do not have opportunity to exercise and who do not regularly exercise have higher scores for PSQI. Features like socio-demographic features including age and marital status, disease preventing exercise, frequency of exercise, feature of exercise behaviour like daily average time of exercise did not affect sleep quality (p>0.05). It was determined that sleep quality of the student was bad, and although having opportunity to exercise only one of three students exercise. To prevent the problems which can be originated from poor sleep quality and not exercising, it is advised to make interventions for the student to obtain positive health behaviours and to continue those behaviours during their nursing training period.

Biography

Canan Birimoğlu is a Research Assistant at Gazi University, Department of Public Health Nursing. She has almost finished her PhD. She is interested in gerontological and geriatric nursing, health promotion, school health and nursing research. Her thesis is about Tai Chi Chuan excersize with elderly people.

Email: cananbirimoglu@gmail.com