The effect of the Fitify: Fitness, Home Workout app on sleep quality and health-related physical fitness among university students
Keywords:
Fitify, fitness application, sleep quality, health-related physical fitness, university studentsAbstract
Background: Findings from previous studies indicate a growing trend in the use of smartphone apps in physical education. However, there remains a lack of research examining the impact of smartphone apps specifically “Fitify: Fitness Home Workout” on sleep quality and health-related physical fitness among college students prior to physical education classes. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyse the influence of the “Fitify: Fitness Home Workout” app prior to physical education classes on sleep quality and health-related physical fitness. Methods: We adopted a 11-week true experimental design as the method for this study. Fifty participants were assigned to the experimental group (EG: n = 25, age [years] = 19.8 ± 0.707; height [cm] = 163 ± 7.92; weight [kg] 54.0 ± 5.55) and the control group (CG: n = 25, age [years] = 19.4 ± 0.747; height [cm] = 164 ± 7.17; weight [kg] = 57.0 ± 5.60). Assessments of sleep quality and health-related physical fitness were conducted at the pretest and posttest. Results: Based on the results of the repeated measures ANOVA analysis, we observed that there was a significant effect of the time factor (p < 0.001) and the group factor (p = 0.024) on the interaction factor (p < 0.001) for the subjective sleep quality indicator. We also found significant effects of time (p < 0.001), group (p = 0.004), and interaction (p < 0.001) on the indicators of sleep quality and health-related physical fitness. Conclusion: We conclude and highlight that the use of "Fitify: Fitness Home Workout" prior to physical education classes can be an effective tool for improving sleep quality and health-related physical fitness among university students.
Downloads
References
Arroyo, A. C., & Zawadzki, M. J. (2022). The Implementation of Behavior Change Techniques in mHealth Apps for Sleep: Systematic Review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 10(4), e33527. https://doi.org/10.2196/33527
Damaševičius, R., Kim, J., & Dourado, V. Z. (2022). Editorial: Use of Smartphone Applications to Increase Physical Activity and Fitness. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(January), 2021–2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.713306
DesClouds, P., & Durand-Bush, N. (2021). Smartphones and Varsity Athletes: A Complicated Relationship. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2(January), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.560031
Dimyati, A., Dermawan, D. F., Mahardhika, D. B., Gani, R. A., & Setiawan, E. (2026). Effect of Smartphone Applications before Deep Learning: Promoting Physical Activity Enjoyment and Physical Fitness among Children with Disabilities. Edu Sportivo Indonesian Journal of Physical Education, 85–95. https://doi.org/10.25299/es:ijope.2026.vol7(1).25953
Emberson, M. A., Lalande, A., Wang, D., McDonough, D. J., Liu, W., & Gao, Z. (2021). Effectiveness of Smartphone-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Individuals' Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review. BioMed Research International, 6296896, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6296896
Geantă, V. A., Ardelean, V. P., Dulceanu, C., Bulzan, C., Forț, P. R., Katanic, B., Govindasamy, K., Campos, F., Gomes, R., Ursu, V. E., & Șerban, O. G. (2025). Health-Related Physical Fitness of Romanian University Students: The European Fitness Badge Approach. Healthcare (Switzerland), 13(16), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13161966
Gil-Espinosa, F. J., Nielsen-Rodríguez, A., Romance, R., & Burgueño, R. (2022). Smartphone Applications for Physical Activity Promotion from Physical Education. Education and Information Technologies, 27(8), 11759–11779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11108-2
He, Z., Hassan, M. A., Saiz-González, P., Ryu, S., Wang, R., & Gao, Z. (2024). Smartphone App-Based Interventions on Physical Activity Behaviors and Psychological Correlates in Healthy Young Adults: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE, 19(4), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301088
Izquierdo-Condoy, J. S., Paz, C., Nati-Castillo, H. A., Gollini-Mihalopoulos, R., Aveiro-Róbalo, T. R., Paucar, J. R. V., Mamami, S. E. L., Caicedo, J. F., Loaiza-Guevara, V., Mejía, D. C., Salazar-Santoliva, C., Villavicencio-Gomezjurado, M., Hall, C., & Ortiz-Prado, E. (2025). Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Sleep Quality Among Medical Students Across Latin America: Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2196/60630
Johannsen, F., Knipp, M., Loy, T., Mirbabaie, M., Mollmann, Nicholas, R. ., Voshaar, J., & Zimmermann, J. (2023). What Impacts Learning Effectiveness of a Mobile Learning App Focused on First‑Year Students? Information Systems and e-Business Management, 21(3), 629-673. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-023-00644-0
Kheirinejad, S., Visuri, A., Ferreira, D., & Hosio, S. (2023). “Leave Your Smartphone Out of Bed”: Quantitative Analysis of Smartphone Use Effect on Sleep Quality. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 27(2), 447–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-022-01694-w
Kliziene, I., Cizauskas, G., Sipaviciene, S., Aleksandraviciene, R., & Zaicenkoviene, K. (2021). Effects of a Physical Education Program on Physical Activity and Emotional Well-Being among Primary School Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147536
Kljajević, V., Stanković, M., Ðorđević, D., Trkulja-Petković, D., Jovanović, R., Plazibat, K., Oršolić, M., Čurić, M., & Sporiš, G. (2022). Physical Activity and Physical Fitness among University Students—A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010158
Kohyama, J. (2021). Which Is More Important for Health : Sleep Quantity or. Children, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/ children8070542
Lee, J. W., Nam, J. J., Kang, K. D., & Han, D. H. (2021). The Effect of Smartphone App-Use Patterns on the Performance of Professional Golfers. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(May), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678691
Lundekvam Berge, H., Lundekvam, K. E., Waage, S., Bjorvatn, B., Pallesen, S., & Saxvig, I. W. (2026). Sleep in the Age of Technology: The Use of Sleep Apps and Perceived Impact on Sleep and Sleep Habits. Frontiers Psychology, March, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1726473
Magee, M. K., White, J. B., Merrigan, J. J., & Jones, M. T. (2021). Does the Multistage 20-M Shuttle Run Test Accurately Predict VO2 max in Ncaa Division I Women Collegiate Field Hockey Athletes? Sports, 9(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9060075
Matos, J. P., Guilherme, L. Q., da Encarnação, S. G. A., Leite, L. B., Forte, P., Kravchychyn, A. C. P., Amorim, P. R. dos S., & de Sá Souza, H. (2025). Influence of Sleep Quality on Recovery and Performance in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Runners: Sex Differences Identified Through Hierarchical Clustering. Healthcare (Switzerland), 13(7), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13070812
Pedraja-rejas, L., Muñoz-fritis, C., Rodr, E., & Laroze, D. (2024). Applied Sciences Mobile Learning and Its Effect on Learning Outcomes and Critical Thinking: A Systematic Review. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 14(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/ app14199105
Rahayu, E. T., Al Raffi, M. I., Setiawan, E., Tannoubi, A., Afrinaldi, R., Sharipov, A., Prihandani, K., Suherman, A., Syafrida, R., & Konukman, F. (2025). Integrating Smartphone Apps during Differentiated Teaching: Promoting Increased Student Engagement and Performance in Team Sports Activities in Middle School Physical Education. Physical Activity and Health, 9(1), 110–123. https://doi.org/10.5334/paah.442
Rahman, T. U., Jan, Z., Alam, A., & Ali, R. (2024). Smartphone Use and Personality: Their Effects on Sleep Quality Across Groups Using Mediation Analysis. Digital Health, 10, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241295797
Rayward, A. T., Murawski, B., Plotnikoff, R. C., Vandelanotte, C., Brown, W. J., Holliday, E. G., & Duncan, M. J. (2018). A Randomised Controlled Trial to Test the Efficacy of an M-Health Delivered Physical Activity and Sleep Intervention to Improve Sleep Quality in Middle-Aged Adults: The Refresh Study Protocol. Contemporary clinical trials, 73, 36–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2018.08.007
Rekstis, M., Beach, E., Cornell, T., Kobak, M. S., & Rebold, M. J. (2025). The Effects of Smartphone Use During Resistance Training. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, 16(1), 154–168. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1588327
Sahin Koybulan, S., Altin, D., Yararbas, G., & Hassoy, H. (2024). Smartphone Addiction and Related Factors among Athletes. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040341
Silva, R., Farias, C., & Mesquita, I. (2021). Challenges Faced by Preservice and Novice Teachers in Implementing Student-Centred Models: A Systematic Review. European Physical Education Review, 27(4), 798-816. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X21995216
Sousa Basto, P., & Ferreira, P. (2025). Mobile applications, physical activity, and health promotion. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12489-z
Špirtović, O., Čaprić, I., Katanić, B., Govindasamy, K., Geantă, V. A., Ardelean, V. P., Salihagić, Z., Ajdinović, A., & Stanković, M. (2025). Group Aerobic Exercise Improves Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Young Women with Elevated BMI: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 15(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/app15137489
Stojanović, N., Stupar, D., Marković, M., Trajković, N., Aleksić, D., Pašić, G., Koničanin, A., Zadražnik, M., & Stojanović, T. (2023). School-Based Circuit Training Intervention Improves Local Muscular Endurance in Primary School Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Children, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/children10040726
Tsiakaras, N., Karatrantou, K., Batatolis, C., Papavasileiou, K., Tzeli, F., & Gerodimos, V. (2025). Intrasession and Intersession Reliability of Flexibility Tests During Developmental Years: The Effects of Sport, Age, and Sex. Sports, 13(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13080238
Zhang, N., & Su, Z. (2026). Physical Fitness and Enjoyment of Physical Activity among University Students: Implications for Sustainable Physical Activity Participation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 20(March). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1772490
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Sri Sundari, Hasanuddin Jumareng, Faiz Faozi, Wahyu Adhi Nugroho, Samson Getu

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, search, or link to full-text articles in this journal without asking by giving appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. All of the remix, transform, or build upon the material must distribute the contributions under the same license as the original.
Accepted 2026-07-18
Published 2026-08-29




