The associations between sleep problems and physical exercise among Chinese university students: A network analysis...

Sleep problems have become a global health challenge. However, current research rarely employs network analysis to explore the correlation between university students' sleep problems and physical exercise. This study aimed to clarify the internal network structure of sleep problems and their relationship with physical exercise through network analysis and to explore gender differences in these networks.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 7978 undergraduate students. The Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scale (YSlS) and the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3) were used to assess sleep problems and physical exercise, respectively. Network analysis was employed to identify influential nodes and edges and to compare network structures between male and female students.

In the overall sleep problems network, subjective sleep quality and sleep satisfaction show the closest association and serve as the core nodes. In the bridge network between sleep problems and physical exercise, gender-specific patterns emerge. Among male students, the strongest connection is between fatigue and physical exercise duration, with difficulty falling asleep functioning as the bridge node. Among female students, the strongest connection is between difficulty falling asleep and physical exercise frequency, with insufficient sleep serving as the bridge node.

The findings from the "sleep problems-physical exercise" network may inform the design of exercise-based interventions for sleep problems and support the implementation of gender-specific intervention strategies.