Academic performance, physical activity, sleep and gender in university students during the pandemic-2020

During the period of confinement, university education was delivered in a virtual modality, which could have an impact on the healthy lifestyles of students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between academic performance, physical activity, and sleep quality and determine the existing differences by gender in Physical Education Pedagogy students during the pandemic in 2020. This study was designed as a multicenter, cross-sectional study of 278 university students from Santiago, Talca, and Temuco, Chile. An online survey was applied from July to December, which included questions on physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and sociodemographic information. The results show that women presented better academic performance, worse quality of sleep, and similar physical activity-MET than men. The women (β = 0.26, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.43 points, p = .002) and those university students who presented a worse indicator in subjective quality of sleep (β = 0.11, 95% CI 0.02 at 0.20 points, p = .014) obtained better academic performance in the context of COVID-19. There was no association between academic performance and physical activity. It is essential to look for strategies that allow students to have adequate academic performance and promote healthy habits in this population.