The association between physical activity and sleep quality in college students: A multiple mediation analysis based...

Sleep problems have become one of the most serious issues affecting the physical and mental health and the academic development of college students. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of physical activity, sleep quality, physical activity enjoyment, and negative emotions among college students, as well as the mechanism through which physical activity affects sleep quality.

Using a cross-sectional design, this study surveyed 1953 Chinese college students with the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 and MATLAB for correlation and regression analyses, and AMOS 26.0 was used to establish and test the target model.

Of the sample, 37.2% suffered from poor sleep quality, and 84.5% had low physical activity levels. Physical activity was positively correlated with physical activity enjoyment (r = 0.349, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with sleep quality and negative emotions (r = -0.065, P < 0.01; r = -0.080, P < 0.01). Both physical activity enjoyment and negative emotions played significant mediating roles in the relationship between physical activity and sleep quality. These factors formed a multiple mediation model, which demonstrated a good fit after testing.

This study confirms that physical activity is associated with sleep quality through two distinct psychological pathways: physical activity enjoyment as an accumulation of psychological resources and reduced negative emotions as alleviation of sleep disorders. Physical activity may reshape individuals' emotion regulation and self-perception abilities through multi-level regulatory mechanisms involving physical, physiological, psychological, and neural processes, thereby creating a favorable psychological environment for sleep. Future interventions should focus on enhancing college students' physical activity enjoyment as a core strategy, complemented by grade-specific programs and visualization techniques. This may strengthen their motivation for physical activity and facilitate the accumulation of psychological resources, ultimately improving their mental health and sleep quality.