The relationship between physical activity, emotion regulation, and sleep quality in high-stress personnel

This study examines the relationship between physical activity, emotion regulation, and sleep quality in personnel working under high stress. A total of 471 military personnel (age = 29.24 ± 5.09 years) working under high stress voluntarily participated in the study. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) scale and both the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Emotion Regulation Skills Scale (ERS) were used in the study. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 26 statistical program. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that there was a statistically significant relationship between low vigorous physical activity (LIPA) and age and working years and between total physical activity (PA) and age and working years (p<0.05). It was determined that there was no statistically significant relationship between the sub-dimensions of the ERS and descriptive information (p>0.05). There is no statistically significant relationship between PSQI and descriptive information (p>0.05). It was observed that there was a statistically significant relationship between the FA scale and the dimensions of PSQI and ERS (p<0.05). It was found that there was a very weak positive correlation between PSQI and LIFA (p<0.01; r = .134) and FA Total (p<0.01; r = .122). There was a very weak positive relationship between the Reappraisal subscale and high-intensity physical activity (HIFA) (p<0.01; r = .097) and FA Total (p<0.01; r = .094). It was determined that there was a very weak positive relationship between the suppression sub-dimension and the PSQI (p<0.01; r = .162), moderate-intensity physical activity (MVPA) (p<0.01; r = .114), HIFA (p<0.01; r = .128), FA Total (p<0.01; r = .196) and PSQI (p<0.01; r = .141). In conclusion, the present study sheds light on the multidimensional links between physical activity, sleep quality, and emotion regulation skills in people under high stress. These findings have important implications for developing targeted interventions to optimize the well-being and performance of military personnel.