Independent Variable Dependent Variable

- Circadian rhythm ~ Lack of melatonin due to - Stress ~ Although this leads - Room environment ~ If a persons - Length of sleep ~ If a
poor sleep patterns/circadian rhythm. to an increase in cortisol room is particularly bright, noisy, person gets their
- Stimulants (caffeine/alcohol) ~ Increases (biological), ruminating or an extreme temperature their recommended
physiological responses which prevents sleep. cognition accompanying circadian rhythm may disrupted. amount of sleep per
- Prescription drugs ~ eg. Diuretics increase need stress may disrupt sleep. - Family/friend problems ~ If a night for their age
to use bathroom which disrupts sleep. - Mental health disorder ~ person has issues in their social group. Amount of
- Sleep disorders ~ eg. Insomnia decreases length Racing thoughts and life they may be too busy worrying SWS and REM
and quality of sleep. inability to sleep at night. about those issues than being able sleep obtained is
- Age ~ Less melatonin is produced as people People with depression or to fall asleep. affected.
grow older so there is a decrease in sleep. anxiety are more likely to - Social life ~ May be pressured to - Quality of sleep ~ If
- Sex ~ Differences biologically eg. Women are get insomnia. go out with friends and stay up a person wakes up
more at risk for insomnia. - High cognition ~ Brain late rather than getting enough feeling good.
- Hormones ~ Cortisol disrupts sleep if the body can’t slow down for Stage sleep. No/limited daytime
thinks it’s under stress. Melatonin induces 1 sleep if thoughts are - Co-sleeping ~ May be disturbed by sleepiness. The
sleep racing. the other persons amount of SWS
- Temperature ~ Body temperature needs to - Emotions ~ If someone is noises/movement throughout the obtained.
decrease for sleep. feeling very excited, or night. (Pacheo, 2020)
- Exercise ~ Body temperature decreases after nervous, or sad they may - Disruptive noises ~ A loud noise in
exercise, tiredness after exercise can realign be unable to sleep because the night may make the body
circadian rhythm. of the physiological think it’s under threat and wake
(Pacheo, 2021) responses and cognition up in a state of panic.
that come with that. (Gerbert, 2021)
(Gerbert, 2021)
Research Designs: Experimental Observational Qualitative
Chosen Design and Variables: Used to test whether one Used when pre-existing criteria or Used to gain rich, in-
- Experimental Design variable or factor influences or characteristics are present, such as depth qualitative data
This design was chosen as the highly controlled causes a change in another. gender, ethnicity, job status etc. about a topic.
nature means it will be easy to replicate for future Advantages: Advantages: Advantages:
variants of the experiment. To mitigate the - Easy to replicate. - Human behaviour observed in - Gain significant rich,
unrepresentativeness of the real world, the sample - Maximises control over natural setting. verbal data.
will be chosen carefully to accommodate these extraneous variables. - Allows for study of otherwise - Useful if little is
variables Disadvantages: unethical variables. known about a topic.
- Exercise (Biological) - Not representative. Disadvantages: Disadvantages:
This factor was chosen as there is still a lot of - Not as ecologically or - Hard to replicate. - Subjective results
research yet to be done on how exercise affects externally valid. - Possible observer bias. can’t be generalised.
sleep. This is an independent variable that will - Presence of others
hopefully be easy to control in the experimental can affect what’s
design. The duration of exercise will be the said.
independent variable. Sample Size:
- Quality of sleep Random sampling will be used to allow for the greatest chance of representativeness as every member
This will be measured by the amount of SWS of the targeted population has a chance at being selected. Advertisements will be placed both online for
recorded on an EEG at the start and end of the individuals interested in exercise as well as in person for the incidental population to be involved. If
experiment (objective quantitative), as well as by sample is analysed and not enough diversity is recognised, stratified sampling will be necessary to
participants completing subjective rating scales on involve participants from a wide range of demographics. A large sample size is desired with high
their sleepiness the following day and how they felt diversity to enhance the representativeness of the data collected.
they slept (subjective quantitative). This variable
was chosen as length of sleep is challenging to
measure due to participant’s varying work routines
and social life.
Constant Factors: Extraneous Variables:
- Type of exercise. All participants instructed to exercise will receive the same - Amount of sleep
exercises to perform, alongside examples of how to perform them. - Physical capacity of participants/intensity of workout
- Time of day exercise completed. Participants will be asked to perform the - Underlying sleep disorders
exercises at 6:00pm each evening, give or take 60 minutes. They will be asked to - Disruptions to sleep
record the time they start and finish exercising for moderation. - Sleep environment
- EEG machines used. Participants will be connected to the same equipment at the - If participants accurately follow instructions
beginning and end of the experiment to ensure continuity. - Consumption of stimulants prior to sleep
- Rating scales given to participants. Participants, regardless of what group, will Ethics:
receive the same rating scales to record their sleepiness. Voluntary Participation & Right to Withdraw: Participants should
- Duration of experiment. The experiment will go for 30 days to allow enough time not feel bribed or coerced into participating, no payments should
for changes to occur without taking up too much of participant time. be offered. Participants must be made aware they have the right to
- Time of day rating scales are completed. Participants will be asked to complete withdraw at anytime, without having to provide an explanation.
their rating scales between 2:00-4:00 pm each day as this is when daytime General Wellbeing: Participant’s physical health should be
examined prior to the experiment to determine what sort of exercise
sleepiness would be highest, reflecting the quality of their sleep.
is best for them. If any exercise places them at risk of injury they
should stop immediately. Participants with sleep issues are
considered vulnerable populations so researchers must be sure to
minimise harm and remain alert to any participant distress.
What are the biopsychosocial factors that influence sleep?
Introduction:
An essential function for all people in allowing their body and mind to recharge, sleep is a critical process essential for
maintaining life. (Department of Health & Wellbeing, 2022) There are five stages of sleep, each characterised by unique brain waves,
physiological responses, and purposes and these stages cycle around 4-6 times per night. (Pacheo, 2020b) The 3rd and 4th stages of
sleep are known as ‘slow wave sleep’ (SWS) as slow delta waves begin to make up to 50% of brain activity, as measured by an
 EEG (electroencephalogram). There is little to no muscle movement in these stages and no eye movement can be detected.
(Gerbert, 2021) This is when breathing is at it’s slowest and deepest and it is hard to wake someone up who is in this stage, otherwise
they are likely to be very disorientated. The amount of SWS a person gets each night is indicative of how restored they will feel
the next day, as this is the restorative form of sleep. (Gerbert, 2021)

There are several theories behind why sleep is necessary for life, one of which being the repair and restoration theory. Sleep has
been found to repair and restore basic body functions as substantial cell repair and protein synthesis occurs during sleep. (Gerbert,
2021) Research from several universities have found that in mice, the signals in the brain responsible for the sleep/wake cycle, are
also responsible for activating the immune system. (Gerbert, 2021)

The relationship between exercise and sleep has been extensively researched over the years. Moderate to vigorous exercise has
been found to improve sleep quality for many people by reducing sleep onset and decreasing the amount of time individuals lie
awake each night. (Pacheo, 2022) Exercise may also improve sleep quality in indirect ways as physical activity can reduce the
likelihood of obesity, and hence reduce one’s risk for experiencing symptoms of obstructive sleep apneoa. (Pacheo, 2022) In a 2013
American sleep poll, approximately 76-83% of those surveyed who exercise in some capacity reported good/fairly good sleep
quality. Only 56% of respondents who do not exercise reported the same results. (Pacheo, 2022)

Aim: To determine the effect of quantity of exercise over 30 days on sleep quality.
Hypothesis: Participants who exercise for approximately 60 minutes per day will record higher amounts of slow wave sleep and
show higher sleep quality scores. One source suggests only 30 minutes of exercise is required to begin to feel the effects it has on
sleep; so doubling that time should be effective in maximising possible results. Much longer than 60 minutes may have a negative
effect on health as the body may become too exhausted. (Pacheo, 2020)

Independent Variable: Amount of exercise per day (0, 30, 45, 60, 75) minutes. Having various amount of exercise times will
provide more data in analysing the effect of exercise on sleep.
Dependent Variable: Length of quality sleep (tested by the minutes of slow-wave sleep recorded on an EEG, physiological
respoonses on a smart watch, and subjective rating scales). Sleep quality was chosen as sleep length may not be a reliable
indicator as people have various sleep routines and too many extraneous variables would be present.
Constant Variables:
-
- Type of exercise - Duration of experiment (30 days) Studies have shown
- Time of day exercise completed that long term exercise (4-24 weeks) enable individuals
- Time of day rating scales completed with insomnia to sleep longer and have better sleep
- EEG machines used quality (Pacheo, 2020)
- Rating scales given to participants
Extraneous Variables:
- Amount of sleep
- Participant fitness - Disruptions to sleep (loud noises, - Stimulant consumption (caffeine)
- Underlying sleep disorders lights, alarms) - Exercise participants do outside of
- Sleep environment experiment/in daily life
Sample: Random sampling will occur to obtain participants if possible, however if limited diversity occurs stratified sampling
will be necessary. Participants will be representing the global population so a variety of race, age, cultural background and gender
will be necessary. Participants will be obtain via random sampling by placing advertisements on social media and flyers in various
cities advertising the experiment. If the sample is analysed and not enough diversity is present, stratified sampling will be used by
targetting particular groups on social media or reaching out to communities to obtain a representative sample. An initial sample
size of 300 is targetted for the first experiment.

Materials:
- EEG x sample If there are not enough EEG machines for the number of participants, the experiment may have to be staggered
as equipment is only required at the beginning and end of the experiment.
- Comfortable rooms for participants to sleep on Days 1, 15 and 30 x sample
- Consent forms x sample
- Sleep quality subjective rating scale forms x sample
- Pens/pencils x sample
- Stopwatches for exercise length
- Exercise videos. Sourced online or created by experimenter.
- Devices to play exercise videos.
- Smartwatches x sample
Method:
1. Thoroughly inform participants of the aim and intentions of the experiment. Detail their rights as a participant and that
they may withdraw at any time. Detail the procedure of the experiment and what it will entail. If participants consent, ask
them to sign a consent form. This ensures that the informed consent ethical guideline is strictly adhered to and there is
written documentation of participant agreement. Before the experiment commences, have each participant meet with a
 medical practitioner to determine if they are physically capable of doing the exercises. This will be done to ensure the
general wellbeing of participants and that physical injury is avoided.
2. Participants will be divided equally into several groups for 0, 30, 45, 60, 75 minutes of exercise per day. Ideally,
demographics such as age, sex, race, fitness will be equal amongst all groups. Participants will be given ID numbers to
maintain confidentiality.
3. Day 1: Participants will be asked to watch their designated exercise video at 6:00pm and follow along with the directions.
Exercises will be split into three groups (walking/jogging intervals on a treadmill, basic weight exercises, yoga/pilates)
and exercise times will be divided accordingly. Eg. 30minutes (10/jogging, 10/weights, 10/yoga), 75 minutes
(25/jogging, 25/weights, 25/yoga). Studies have found that those who exercise in the evening reported more slow-wave
sleep, however those who exercised in the hour leading up to sleeping lead to more time awake in bed as body
temperature was too high. 6:00pm, or thereabouts, is a compromise between exercising in the evening, without being too
late into the night. These exercises were chosen as aerobic exercise is generally what is suggested for increasing sleep
quality. (Pacheo, 2022) As 75 minutes of one type of exercise may be disengaging and repetitive for select participants, a
range of exercises have been chosen. All participants must do the same three groups of exercise to minimise extraneous
variables.
4. Exercising participants will be supervised to ensure that exercises are being performed safely and correctly. All
participants have the choice to take milder alternatives of each exercise if they cannot keep up, and breaks will be offered
frequently to ensure general wellbeing of participants.
5. Participants will spend night 1 monitored by an EEG in the sleep lab. Researchers must be sure to make participants as
comfortable as possible, and explain the process of setting up the EEG to ease any stress within participants. Participants
will wear a smart watch to sleep to monitor heart rate and other physiological responses associated with Slow Wave
Sleep.
6. The following day, participants will be asked to complete the subjective rating scales between the hours of 2-4pm and to
submit them electronically. Rating scales will be influenced by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, however will be more
specific to prevent vagueness and more questions will be asked about how participants feel that they slept. Smart watch
data will also be uploaded daily. By scores being submitted electronically throughout the experiment, researchers can
monitor the wellbeing of patients through the data and withdraw participants if distress is detected.
7. From days 2-14 and 16-29, participants will be asked to complete their exercises from home at the designated time, and
to continue to complete and submit the rating scales each afternoon. Brain activity will not be monitored in this time. It
would be too disruptive for participants to have to spend a month from home sleeping in a lab. There must be a
compromise on the objective quantitative data for participant wellbeing. Smart watches will provide an alternative for the
objective quantitative data as they measure other physiological responses aside from brain waves.
8. Participants will have weekly ‘check-ins’ with researchers on to ask any questions or concerns. This may be done either
in person, via a telephone call, or an online platform such as Zoom, depending on what is convenient for participants.
Researchers may take notes for additional qualitative data.
9. On nights 15 and 30 participants will follow the same procedure as night 1. Participants will be asked to sleep in the lab
attached to an EEG so researchers can monitor amount of SWS to compare to night 1.
10. After the final rating scales are collected on day 31, participants will no longer be required to exercise and are free to go.
11. Participants will be debriefed by researchers before they leave and may request a copy of the results when data is collated
and analysed. Researchers will provide any additional support services to participants if needed.
Research Method:
Although a variety of data will be collected from this experiment (objective quantitative from EEG and smart watches, subjective
quantitative from rating scales, qualitative from weekly ‘check-ins’), there will be the highest amount of subjective quantitative
data. However, the collection of the objective quantitative data on days 1, 15, and 30 will allow researchers to compare how well
participants physiologically slept, to how well they feel that they slept. The combination of these two methods is important as
although objective data can be directly verified it does not take into consideration how participants feel. Where subjective data is
good at allowing participants to share their feelings in a quantifiable way, the integrity of their answers cannot be determined. The
qualitative data collected weekly may not be useful for the intended aim of the experiment, however it will allow researchers to
monitor the general wellbeing of participants and to intervene if they are deemed at risk.
Table 1: Ethical Risk Assessment

Ethical guideline How it may be broken Mitigation

Informed consent Participants may consent to the experiment
without understanding the risks and what is
required of them ie. Amount of exercise
Voluntary Participants may feel coerced into participating or
participation may be bribed with financial reward for their
time.
Confidentiality Participants’ identities could be linked with their
data upon publishing. Participants who recognise
one another may discuss the experiment with
external parties.
Right to withdraw Participants may feel pressured to stay in the
experiment even if they are experiencing physical
pain from the exercise, or are suffering due to
having sleep issues.
Debriefing Participants may not know exactly when the
experiment ends and when they are able to move
on with their lives. Participants may have
Researchers will ensure to thoroughly explain the procedure to participants and
what will be asked of them upon their signing of the consent form.
Participants must be 18 years or above to participate so they understand the
risks of the experiment.
No monetary payment should be promised to participants for their time.
Researchers should not ask individuals whom they are personally close to to
participate as there may be unintentional coercion.
Participants will be given anonymous identification numbers to separate their
personal identity from their data. Participants will be requested to not discuss
one another’s involvement outside of the experiment.
Participants will be informed at the beginning of the experiment and regularly
each week that they may withdraw at any time without having to provide an
explanation or experiencing any consequences.
Researchers make time to sit with participants to provide any needed support
and answer questions. Researchers will summarise the process now of what
happens to participant data, and participants may request further information
 experienced distress or have questions for the when the report is published.
researcher which can’t be answered.
General Wellbeing Asking participants to exercise every day may Participants must be aged 18 years or above as the exercises will be designed
place strain on their bodies and cause additional for adult bodies and a normal medical practitioner will be involved, not a
stress if they are busy. paediatrician. Medical practitioner will monitor participant’s physical health,
Participants who are prone to over-exercising/ researchers will monitor participant’s psychological health.
experience mental illness may experience a Researchers have an ethical obligation to withdraw any participants whose
decline in well-being in being asked to exercise general wellbeing is lowering and to remain alert to any issues.
every day. The sleep lab issue is somewhat unavoidable for obtaining objective
Asking participants to sleep in a sleep lab become quantitative results. However, participants will only have to sleep away for 3
a source of stress. nights out of the month, and may withdraw from the experiment if too
uncomfortable.
Errors:
As there are numerous extraneous variables present, the validity of the data may be threatened as there may be alternative
explanations for why people slept well or not. If participants know what conclusions the researchers are hoping for in the
experiment, they may bias their answers a particular way. Hence, creating bias in the experiment outcomes and reducing the
validity of the study.
If consistent results do not occur in each group for the quality of sleep each night, this would mean the data is not reliable as it is
not consistent. However, this reliability issue may occur due to the many extraneous variables present such as whether or not a
person actually exercised the asked amount, or if they correctly interpreted the questions.
Table 2: Example Results Table

0 Minutes of 30 Minutes of 45 Minutes of 60 Minutes of 75 Minutes of

Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise
Mean minutes of
SWS
Median minutes
of SWS

Conclusion:
The aim of the experiment is to determine whether the amount of exercise one does per day has an effect on the quality of sleep
that night. It is hypothesised that if participants do 60 minutes of exercise each day then they will experience more SWS per night
and hence, have better sleep quality.