Abstract:

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between physical activity, musculoskeletal system problems, sleep, and screen exposure time in university students during the distance learning process. Methods: Three hundred and one students (183 female, 118 male) participated in the study via online survey. The screen exposure time was recorded. The physical activity using Short Form International Physical Activity Questionnaire and pain using Visual Analog Scale were evaluated. Nordic Musculoskeletal System Questionnaire was used to evaluate musculoskeletal symptoms. The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index was applied for the details of sleep quality. Results: The students had a low level of physical activity (58.8%) and poor sleep quality (70.8%). Musculoskeletal pain was reported in upper back (85%), lower back (85%), neck (79.4%), shoulder (71.4%). The pain was correlated with total sleep quality (r=0.320, p<0.001), daytime dysfunction (r=0.282, p<0.001), sleep quality (r=0.256, p<0.001), and sleep disturbances (r=0.232, p<0.001). The screen time exposure-education was weakly correlated with PSQI total score (r=0.118, p=0.04) and total activity (r=-0.148, p=0.01). Conclusion: The low-level physical activity, worsened sleep quality, high rate of musculoskeletal problems and increased amount of screen exposure were reported in the distance learning process. We believed that these problems could be the reason for serious health issues later, so approaches targeting to improve physical activity levels, better posture while studying could be beneficial.

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