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NCT Number: NCT07676292

Effects of Sustainable Exercise Habits in University Students

This cross-sectional comparative study aims to evaluate the effects of sustainable exercise habits on cognitive awareness, body awareness, and sleep quality in university students.

The main hypotheses are:

H0: There is no difference in cognitive awareness, body awareness, and sleep quality between university students with sustainable exercise habits and those with a sedentary lifestyle.

H1: There is a difference in cognitive awareness, body awareness, and sleep quality between university students with sustainable exercise habits and those with a sedentary lifestyle.

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Key information

Conditions

Sedentary Lifestyle Behavior Dyssomnias Mental Disorders Motor Activity Nervous System Diseases Physical Activity Sedentary Behavior Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders

Age range

18 year–25 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Yeditepe University Faculty of Health Sciences

Istanbul, 34755, Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

Healthy university students aged 18-25 who meet the inclusion criteria will be included in this comparative cross-sectional study to demonstrate the effects of sustainable exercise habits on cognitive awareness, body awareness, and sleep quality.

Participants will be divided into two different groups based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) results: the Sustainable Exercise Group and the Sedentary Group. The Sustainable Exercise Group will consist of students who have been performing at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week regularly for at least the last 6 months. The Sedentary Group will include individuals with a weekly physical activity duration of less than 60 minutes or those without a regular exercise habit for the last 6 months.

No intervention or experimental procedure will be applied to the participants. All assessments will be prepared as online questionnaires and sent to the participants via Google Forms.

Before the evaluation, participants will be informed about the study and their consent will be obtained online. Following this, the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity routines, and sedentary behaviors will be questioned with a structured evaluation form. The physical activity levels, body awareness, decision-making styles, critical thinking dispositions, and sleep quality of the participants will be evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, Body Awareness Questionnaire, Melbourne Decision Making Scale, Marmara Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Being a university student aged between 18 and 25 years
  • Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

  • Having any diagnosed psychiatric disorder
  • Regularly using medications that affect sleep patterns or cognitive functions
  • Having been diagnosed with a sleep disorder
  • Having a history of substance or alcohol addiction
  • Having had an acute illness within the last 1 month
  • Having undergone surgery within the last 6 months

Treatment and study plan

Survey-based Assessment

Other

No pharmacological or physical intervention is applied. Participants are assigned to groups based on their self-reported physical activity habits. Assessment consists of an online survey battery to evaluate cognitive awareness, body awareness, and sleep quality.

Primary outcomes

  1. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - Short Form

    Time frame: 8-week period between April 2026 and May 2026

    The IPAQ-Short Form will be used to determine the physical activity levels of the participants. This questionnaire consists of 7 questions and provides information about the duration of vigorous activity, moderate activity, walking, and sitting performed in the last 7 days. The data obtained will be calculated in MET-minutes/week. Based on the results, participants will be classified as physically inactive, having low activity level, or adequate activity level.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Body Awareness Questionnaire

    Time frame: 8-week period between April 2026 and May 2026

    This questionnaire will be used to measure individuals' awareness of their non-pathological bodily processes, such as sensitivity to bodily rhythms, abnormal changes, and variations in body functions. It consists of 18 items. A high total score indicates that the individual has a high level of body awareness.

  2. Melbourne Decision Making Scale

    Time frame: 8-week period between April 2026 and May 2026

    This scale will be used to evaluate participants' decision-making self-esteem and decision-making styles. The scale consists of two parts: the first part measures self-esteem in decision making, and the second part measures decision-making styles including careful, avoidant, procrastinating, and panic decision making. It includes a total of 22 items.

  3. Marmara Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale

    Time frame: 8-week period between April 2026 and May 2026

    This scale will be used to determine the critical thinking dispositions of the university students. It is a measurement tool consisting of 28 items that include sub-dimensions such as reasoning, searching, evidence gathering, and open-mindedness.

  4. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Time frame: 8-week period between April 2026 and May 2026

    The PSQI will be used to evaluate the participants' sleep quality and sleep disturbance levels over the past month. The scale consists of 19 self-report questions evaluating 7 components: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. A total score of 5 or higher is evaluated as poor sleep quality.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Aslı Yeral, Asst. Prof. Dr

CONTACT

[email protected]

0537 965 8494

Deniz ASLAN, MSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

0538 339 3074

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Yeditepe University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

From Mind to Body: Evaluating the Effects of Sustainable Exercise Habits on Cognitive Awareness, Body Awareness, and Sleep Quality in University Students

Acronym: SUSTAIN-EX

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jun 30, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 30, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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