Al-Eisa et al.

BMC Psychiatry 2014, 14:238

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/14/238

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Open Access

Association between physical activity and

psychological status among Saudi female students
Einas Al-Eisa1, Syamala Buragadda2* and Ganeswara Rao Melam2

Abstract
Background: Physical inactivity is common among Saudi females. Many variables are associated with different
levels of mental health, including physical activity. This study was designed to determine the correlation between
3 weeks of improved physical activity and psychological factors such as insomnia, depression and attention span.
Methods: Seventy-six female students, of mean age 20.9 1.4 years, were analyzed. Insomnia, depression and
attention were subjectively assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI),
and the Attention Span Test (AST), respectively. Each subject was given a pedometers and advised to walk at least
6000 steps per day for 3 weeks. Psychological status was assessed before and after the 3 weeks and compared
using paired sample t-tests. Pearson correlation was used to determine the association between physical health and
psychological factors.
Results: Improvements in scores on the ISI (from 7.22 3.06 to 4.09 2.80), BDI (from 8.88 3.13 to 3.98 2.74) and
AST (from 63.86 3.06 to 77.27 11.33) were observed after 3 weeks. Physical activity was negatively correlated
with ISI (r = 0.74) and BDI (r = 0. 78) and positively correlated with AST (r = 0.69).
Conclusion: Improved physical activity can be useful in managing insomnia, depression and attention. In female
Saudi students, higher levels of physical activity were associated with improved mental health.
Keywords: Physical performance, Pedometer, Depression, Insomnia, Attention

Background
Many populations based studies have shown that physical activity has many beneficial effects on mental health
[1]. Physical activity is measured in different domains,
including type, frequency, duration, intensity and relative
importance in achieving specific outcomes [2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical
inactivity leads to disability and is one of the leading
causes of chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity [3]. People with low physical activity
are at higher risk of exhibiting symptoms of depression
and anxiety. Mood disorders are also associated with
physical inactivity and increased physical activity helps
to improve mood disturbances. Studies have shown an
inverse relationship between physical activity and depression [4].
* Correspondence: [email protected]
2
Rehabilitation Health Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical
Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

Physical inactivity is common among Saudis of all age

groups, with prevalences ranging from 43 to 99%. Saudi
males frequently participate in vigorous physical activity,
whereas Saudi females do not [5]. Physical activity in adolescents improves brain function and cognitive performance and may help reduce stress and mood alterations,
reductions that can improve academic performance in
school. Psychological and emotional disorders play a
major role in the performance of college students [6-8].
Self-determined walking for 30 minutes per day, even in
short bouts of 10 minutes each, has been regarded as
moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) [9]. Pedometers are the most reliable and valid tools for measuring and promoting physical activity. These instruments
can measure the number of steps taken and record the
amount of time a person is active and the number of calories expended. Steps per minute (SPM) can be calculated
by dividing the total steps taken by the total activity time
in minutes [10,11]. An SPM of 120140 has been recommended for adolescents aged 1012 years, whereas

2014 Al-Eisa et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain
Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article,
unless otherwise stated.

Al-Eisa et al. BMC Psychiatry 2014, 14:238

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30 minutes of MVPA or 10,000 steps per day on all weekdays is recommended for adults [12,13]. For Chinese
adults, the step rate cut point at 6 METs (metabolic equivalents) is 130 steps per minute, and the recommended
number of steps per day is 3150 [14]. Incorporating a device such as a pedometer can increase an individuals
awareness and motivation to change his/her sedentary
lifestyle [10,15].
Physical inactivity has an adverse impact on health of
all individuals including college students [16-18]. Lifestyle behaviors play an important role in healthy living.
Poor mental wellbeing is often expressed as low selfesteem, depressed mood, lack of self-confidence, insomnia, and social isolation. According to the WHO, the
second most frequent cause of disability by 2020 will be
mental illness, specifically depression [19]. Insomnia is
highly prevalent among college students, leading to
stress, depression and reduced academic performance.
Sleep deprivation and psychological stress are more frequently observed in medical students in various countries.
Moreover, physical activity was shown to be negatively
correlated with insomnia. The Insomnia Severity Index
(ISI) is a valid and reliable tool for measuring insomnia
[20-22]. Depression and depressive disorders are considered public health burdens, with 1015% of youths experiencing a mood disturbance at any one time. In adults, the
risk of depression can be reduced by increasing physical
activity [23]. The type, intensity and frequency of physical
activity for effective stress control remains unclear. Leisure
time physical activity leads to good mental health in
women [24], with physical activity having beneficial effects
on brain structure and function [25]. Students involved in
physical activity develop greater self-esteem, increased attention and better classroom behavior [26]. Much work is
required to determine the correlation between physical activity and mental health among Saudi female college students. This study was therefore designed to determine the
correlation between a 3-week physical activity motivation
program and mental health variables, including attention,
depression and insomnia, in female Saudi students.

Methods
Sample

Female students at the Applied Medical Sciences College

of King Saud University were invited to attend a 1-hour
lecture on the adverse effects of physical inactivity and
its prevalence in Saudi Arabia. Of those who attended,
105 volunteered to participate, but only 76 completed
the study. Students ranged in age from 19 to 25 years.
Subjects with a history of fracture or surgery of the back,
pelvis, or lower limb, any contraindication to increased
walking, pregnancy, or any cognitive or communication
impairment were excluded. All participants provided
written informed consent, and the study protocol was

Page 2 of 5

approved by the Ethics Committee of King Saud

University.
The next presentation was given only to participants;
this included the outline of the study, including its purpose and methods, how to use the pedometer, and the
effects of exercise. A leaflet containing several simple
suggestions for increasing physical activity was given to
each participant. Examples included walking around
while talking on a cell, using stairs instead of an elevator,
and going window shopping at least once a week. Demographic data, such as age, height, weight, and body mass
index (BMI), were recorded. Self-administered questionnaires were used to measure attention (AST), insomnia
(ISI), and depression (BDI). Each subject was given a
pedometer and instructed to walk at least 6000 steps per
day for 3 weeks. Stride length was determined for each
subject by marking a taped 7-meter distance on the floor
and instructing each subject to take 10 steps forward
(five steps with each foot) at their normal stride; stride
length was calculated by dividing the distance covered
by 10. Subjects were instructed to wear the pedometer
(Omron model HJ 152) at the level of the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). Communication was maintained
through email and telephone to solve any problems encountered. Subjects were asked to maintain a daily physical activity log for 3 weeks. At the end of each week, each
participant was sent an e-mail and telephone reminder to
maintain their daily physical log and to improve their
physical activity.
The AST consists of 10 questions and takes 5 minutes
to complete. Score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher
scores indicating a better attention span and better ability to focus on a task with no distractions. The Beck
Depression Inventory (BDI), a self-reported questionnaire used to measure depression, has been shown to be
useful in both research and clinical practice. The most recent form of the BDI, the BDI-II (second version), was
found to better differentiate depressed from non-depressed
subjects than the original BDI [27,28]. The BDI consists of
21 items, with scores ranging from 0 to 63. Scores of 110
and 1116 were considered normal and indicative of mild
mood disturbances, respectively; scores of 1720, 2131,
3140, and >40 were considered indicative of borderline,
moderate, severe, and extreme depression, respectively.
The insomnia severity index (ISI) consists of seven questions, with scores ranging from 0 to 28; scores of 07 indicated an absence of clinically significant insomnia; 814
indicated sub-threshold insomnia; and scores of 1521 and
2228 indicating moderate and severe clinical insomnia,
respectively.
Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed using SPSS-16. Differences in physical activity from before to after the 3-week period were

Page 3 of 5

14

12000

12

10000

BDI Scores

Average number of steps taken

Al-Eisa et al. BMC Psychiatry 2014, 14:238

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/14/238

8000
6000

10
8
6
4

4000

2000

0
0

0
week1

week2
mean

2000

4000

sd

Figure 1 Physical activity (average number of steps taken) from

week 1 to 3.

analyzed using one way ANOVA. Scores on each of the

three questionnaires before and after the 3-week period
were compared using paired sample t-tests. The relationships between physical activity and insomnia, depression
and attention were assessed by Pearson correlation analysis.
A p value 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results
Of the 105 students initially recruited, 29 dropped out
before or during the study for various reasons. Finally,
76 subjects completed the study successfully. Their
mean age was 20.9 1.4 years; their mean weight was
59.5 12.9 kg, their mean height was 157.9 6.2 cm,
and their mean was BMI 23.8 4.8 kg/m2.
The mean numbers of steps taken by the study participants after 1, 2 and 3 weeks of physical activity were
5917, 7026, and 8715, respectively (Figure 1). Before the
3-week physical activity period, 52% of study subjects
had mild mood disturbances (scores 1116 on the BDI),
with the average pre-treatment score on the BDI of
8.88 3.13. Their average score on the ISI was 7.22
3.06 indicating sub threshold insomnia; and their

6000

8000

10000 12000 14000 16000

number of steps taken

week3

Figure 3 Correlation analysis between physical activity and

depression. *negative correlation was observed between BDI scores
and number of steps taken.

average score on the AST was 63.85 11.18, indicating

a lack of focus and attention on a task. Following the 3week physical activity period, the subjects had mean
scores on the BDI, ISI, and AST of 3.98 2.74 (t = 10.22,
P 0.05), 4.09 2.80 (t = 6.57, P 0.05), and 77.27 11.33
(t = 7.34, P 0.05), respectively, with all showing significant Improvements after 3 weeks.
Pearson correlation analysis showed that physical activity was negatively correlated with ISI (r = 0.74; p 0.01;
Figure 2) and BDI (r = 0. 78; p 0.01; Figure 3) and positively correlated with AST (r = 0.69; p 0.01; Figure 4).
Further analysis showed a positive correlation between ISI
and BDI (r = 0. 77; p 0.01), a negative correlation between ISI and AST (r = 0.77; p 0.01), and a negative
correlation between BDI and AST (r = 0.68; p 0.01).

Discussion
This study was designed to determine the correlation between physical activity and psychological factors, such as
attention, depression and insomnia, in young Saudi
women (mean age, 20.9 1.4 years) who were not overweight (mean weight, 59.5 12.9 kg; mean BMI 23.8
4.8 kg/m2). Adherence and dropout are the two most

14
12

100
90
80

AST Scores

ISI Scores

10
8
6
4

70
60
50
40
30
20

10

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000 12000 14000 16000

number of steps taken

Figure 2 Correlation analysis between physical activity and

insomnia. *negative correlation was observed between ISI scores
and number of steps taken.

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000 12000 14000 16000

number of steps taken

Figure 4 Correlation analysis between physical activity and

attention. *Positive correlation was observed between AST scores
and number of steps taken.

Al-Eisa et al. BMC Psychiatry 2014, 14:238

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important components related to physical inactivity, with

an average dropout rate of 50% [29]. Non-adherence has
been associated with barriers to exercise, perceived lack of
time, influence by family and peers, and lack of will power
[30]. In contrast, the dropout rate in our study was only
30%, with dropout likely due to a lack of time, stress from
examinations and lack of motivation. Although leisure
time physical activity is associated with a lower incidence
of mental disorders [24,25,31], the doseresponse relationship between exercise and mental well-being is still
unclear [32]. Moderate or vigorous physical activity is recommended to improve health and reduce the risk of
chronic illness when performing the routine activities
of daily living does not meet the recommended dosage
of physical activity [33]. Minimum activity guidelines
vary for individuals in different countries. It has been
estimated that half of the US adult population does not
meet the recommended guideline [34,35]. Moreover,
Australian adults walking <7500 steps were considered
inactive [36].
To our knowledge, there have been no such recommendations for young Saudis. We found, however, that
physical activity was associated with psychological factors, such as insomnia, depression and attention span.
Exercise of any type was shown to have positive effects
on depression [37]. Physical activities were found to be
negatively associated with mental disorders, especially
anxiety and mood disturbance [38]. We observed that
physical activity was negatively correlated with insomnia
(r = 0.74) and depression (r = 0.78). Insomnia can lead
to daytime sleepiness and inattention, resulting in frequent attention shifting and distraction [39]. Our finding
that exercise for 3 weeks improved ISI and BDI scores
was consistent with results showing that increased physical activity reduced depression (t = 10.22, p 0.05) and
insomnia (t = 6.57, p 0.05) symptoms [40]. We also observed a positive correlation between physical activity
and attention span (r = 0.69). Depression and insomnia
influence attention, with distraction and an inability to
focus on a task reducing subject productivity [41]. This
is also consistent with our results, which showed that
depression (r = 0.68) and insomnia (r = 0.77) were
negatively correlated with attention. The findings of this
study show that Saudi female students who exercise
regularly are less likely to experience mental disturbances. The rate of response was 70%. The sample size
was small and the duration of the physical exercise program was only 3 weeks. The motivational program was
not structured. Future research should focus on a larger
sample, with longitudinal studies recommended.

Conclusion
To our knowledge this is the first study analyzing the relationship between physical activity and psychological

Page 4 of 5

factors in Saudi female students. Improved physical activity can improve symptoms of insomnia and depression and improve the ability to focus on a particular task
without distraction.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors contribution
All the authors contributed equally for the study. EA contributed for the study
conception, design, acquisition of data and critical revision. SB participated in
study conception, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting of manuscript
and critical revision. GM also participated in drafting of manuscript and critical
revision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge our sincere thanks to the female students of King Saud
University for their contribution in data collection and for participation in the
study.
Author details
1
Female Centre for Science and Medical Studies, King Saud University,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2Rehabilitation Health Sciences Department, College of
Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Received: 20 February 2014 Accepted: 12 August 2014
Published: 21 August 2014
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doi:10.1186/s12888-014-0238-3
Cite this article as: Al-Eisa et al.: Association between physical activity and
psychological status among Saudi female students. BMC Psychiatry
2014 14:238.

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