Effectiveness of Exercise Activities on the Sleep Quality and the General Health of Prisoners

Introduction: The particular circumstances of a prisoner lead to physical and psychological disorders. These disorders may have a negative effect on general health and sleep quality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the Effectiveness of exercise activities on the sleep quality and the general health of prisoners. Methods: 97 people from all Jahrom County prisoners were randomly selected and divided into active (n=44) (Mean ± SD; aged: 33.7 ± 7.78yrs., height: 168.18 ± 9.50cm, weight: 76.18 ± 13.75kg) and inactive (n=53) (Mean ± SD; aged: 38.11 ± 9.49yrs., height: 169.19 ± 3.43cm., weight: 75.16 ± 7.62kg) groups. Data were collected from general health questionnaire 28 (GH28) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis was done by U Mann Whitney test using SPSS 18 software (p≤0.05). Results: The results showed that, except for subjective sleep quality (p = 0.66) and daytime dysfunction (p= 0.22), there was a significant difference between the two groups in all aspects of sleep (p ≤0.05). Also, there was a significant difference in overall general health (p= 0.002), somatic symptoms (p= 0.003), anxiety (p= 0.006) and severe depression (p= 0.001) between two active and inactive groups. Conclusion: According to the results of the research, it seems that both prisoners and prison managers need to pay more attention to exercise activities and its beneficial effects and provide grounds for doing it.