ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between circadian rhythm and physical activity in students of Trakya University School of Medicine ranging from 1st to 5th grade.

Horne & Östberg’s Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire and International Physiological Activity Scale were used to compare physical activity and chronotype features of 1st to 5th grade students of Trakya University School of Medicine. Pearson Chi-Square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to evaluate the results of the study.

This study included 351 medical students, of whom 143 were male and 208 were female. The mean age of the study population was 20.79 ± 1.9. There were 32 (9.1%) morning-type, 234 (66.5%) intermediate-type and 85 (24.4%) evening-type volunteers. Out of all, 102 (29.0%) were inactive, 177 (50.3%) minimal active and 73 (20.7%) active. There was no significant relationship between physical activity and chronotype differences between the study groups.

The findings of this study showed no relationship between physical activity and chronotype in healthy young medical students. Circadian preference may not be considered as an effective factor for daily physical activity.

Keywords: Exercise, circadian rhythm, medical student