Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 17:11:1282887.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1282887. eCollection 2023.

Examining the relationship between sleep quality and depressive symptoms in Korean women engaged in soccer during the coronavirus pandemic

Affiliations

Examining the relationship between sleep quality and depressive symptoms in Korean women engaged in soccer during the coronavirus pandemic

Young-Jae Kim et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused sudden changes to daily lives, such as self-isolation and social distancing, and has negatively affected sleep quality and patterns. The resulting psychological discomfort has caused many Korean women to experience depressive moods. Vigorous physical activity is considered effective in improving sleep quality and alleviating depressive symptoms. As a form of vigorous physical activity, soccer could be used to improve women's mental health. This study aimed to ascertain the effects of playing soccer on sleep quality and depressive symptoms in women.

Methods: Non-face-to-face questionnaires were administered using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to measure sleep quality and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to measure depressive symptoms, targeting 200 of 297 soccer-playing Korean women aged 20-50 years, from October 13, 2022, to January 15, 2023. A total of 172 questionnaires administered to soccer participants were used, while 28 with insincere and double or no-responses were excluded. Additionally, 124 samples of non-exercise participants were collected, with the help of "EMBRAIN," a Korean research and survey company. This study analyzed differences in sleep quality and depressive symptoms, and correlations and multiple regression analysis were performed.

Results: The soccer group was shown to have a high quality of sleep. In relation to the effect of sleep quality on depressive symptoms, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping pills, and daytime functional disorder had a significant effect. In the relation to the effect of sleep quality on depressive symptoms, significant effect was found in subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep disturbance, and daytime functional disorder of soccer participants, and non-exercise participants displayed significant effect in subjective sleep quality, sleep disturbance, and the use of sleeping pills.

Discussion: This study examined the effect of soccer participation on sleep quality and depressive symptoms among women. Soccer, which requires high activity and teamwork levels, improves sociability in women by enhancing their sense of belonging, self-confidence, and team spirit.

Keywords: COVID-19; Korean women; depressive symptoms; sleep quality; soccer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Talapko J, Perić I, Vulić P, Pustijanac E, Jukić M, Bekić S, et al. . Mental health and physical activity in health-related university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare. (2021) 9:801. 10.3390/healthcare9070801 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Naja F, Hamadeh R. Nutrition amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-level framework for action. Eur J Clin Nutr. (2020) 74:1117–21. 10.1038/s41430-020-0634-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency . Summary of 2021 regional health statistics 2021. (2022). Available online at: https://chs.kdca.go.kr/chs/stats/statsMain.do (accessed May 24, 2022).
    1. Wilke J, Mohr L, Tenforde AS, Edouard P, Fossati C, González-Gross M, et al. . A pandemic within the pandemic? Physical activity levels substantially decreased in countries affected by COVID-19. Int J Environ Res Public Health. (2021) 18:2235. 10.3390/ijerph18052235 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Craike MJ, Symons C, Zimmermann JAM. Why do young women drop out of sport and physical activity? A social ecological approach. Ann Leis Res. (2009) 12:148–72. 10.1080/11745398.2009.9686816 - DOI

Substances