The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of physical exercise on improving
insomnia and symptoms of anxiety in Physical Education students at a public University
in the North of Tocantins in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is a case-
control study (pre- and post-intervention) with students from the Physical Education
Course in Tocantinópolis, TO, divided into two groups: case group (intervention), with
students who practice physical exercise, and a control group, with students non-
practitioners of physical exercise. Sociodemographic and self-perceived health variables
were collected, using the insomnia severity index and the Beck anxiety inventory. The
students in the case group underwent bodybuilding-type physical exercise sessions for 4
weeks, with an average duration of 1h:30min, from Monday to Friday at a gym in the
city. After this period, the groups (case-control) were reevaluated using the evaluation
procedures consisting of the same instruments used in the pre-intervention. Descriptive
and inferential statistics were performed on the data, multivariate analysis of variance for
repeated measures and Wilk's Lambda test were applied. The sample consisted of 50
students. Post-intervention, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in
insomnia (p<0.001) and anxiety (p<0.001). Therefore, regular physical exercise had a
positive effect on improving insomnia and anxiety.
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