Physical activity levels, recreational screen time, sleep quality and mood among young adult healthcare students at an international university in Bahrain: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate levels of recreational physical activity, screen time, sleep quality and mood in undergraduate medicine and nursing students.

DESIGN

Observational, cross-sectional study using an online survey administered during the academic term in 2024.

SETTING

International Health Professions University in Bahrain.

PARTICIPANTS

279 undergraduate students from the school of medicine and school of nursing.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form), recreational screen time (Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and mood (Brief Mood Introspection Scale) were measured and compared across groups, and associations between measures were assessed.

RESULTS

Participants reported high rates of not meeting physical activity recommendations (46.6%), high levels of recreational screen time (median=32 hours per week) and poor-quality sleep (63.1%). Males reported higher levels of physical activity, screen time and sleep quality. Higher sleep quality was observed for the school of medicine, the preclinical stage of study and participants living alone. Overweight and obese participants had significantly higher recreational screen time and more unpleasant and tired moods. Higher levels of screen time and lower sleep quality were associated with tired, unpleasant and negative moods, while not meeting physical activity recommendations was associated with poor sleep in addition to unpleasant, tired and negative moods.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity levels are positively associated with mood and sleep quality in young adult healthcare students. Recreational screen time is negatively associated with mood but has no relationship with sleep quality. Intervention programmes to increase physical activity are warranted for young adults in healthcare training.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Study data is available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.