Comparison of the Relationship between Sleep Quality and Pulmonary Function and Biochemical Composition of the Body in Athletic and Non-Athlete Girls

Low sleep quality weakens the function of various parts of the body. Some studies have shown that physical activity can affect sleep quality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and pulmonary function and body fat percentage in female athlete and non-athlete female students. 40 university girl students volunteered to participate in the study after obtaining informed consent. The respiratory indices of the subjects were measured using micro lab spirometer. Also PSQI questionnaire was used to assess the sleep quality of the subjects. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient (P≤0.05). The average age of participants was 22.6 ± 1.17 years. The average score of sleep quality in athlete's girls was significantly lower than non-athlete girls (P≤0.05). There was a significant relationship between sleep quality score and fat percentage (r = 0.51, r = 0.02, P = 0.02) and FEV1 (r = -0.71, P = 0.001) and FVC (r = -0.72). Also, there was a significant correlation between fat percentage with FEV1 (r = -0.66, P = 0.001) and FVC (r = -0.66, P = 0.005) in the non-athlete group. Moreover, in the athlete group, there was a significant relationship between sleep quality score with FEV1 (r = -0.73, P = 0.001) and FVC (r = -0.77, P = 0.001). According to the results of this study, there is a significant relationship between sleep quality and fat percentage and some respiratory indices. Therefore, it seems that exercise with decreasing fat percentage and improvement of pulmonary function can be effective in improving the quality of sleep in girls