Mood States, Physical Activity, and Sleep Quality in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Educational...

Background/Objectives: University students face academic, social, and lifestyle-related demands with the potential to influence affective functioning. Mood states provide information on everyday emotional profiles and may be associated with physical activity (PA) and sleep. This study analysed mood states and examined their relationship with physical activity, sleep quality, and sleep duration, considering sociodemographic and academic variables. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1469 university students from Granada, Spain. Mood states were assessed using the Profile of Mood States, physical activity with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and sleep quality and duration with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, and Spearman's rho correlations were performed. Results: Poor sleep quality was observed in 81.4% of participants, while mean sleep duration was 6.96 ± 1.18 h/night. Students with poor sleep quality showed higher scores in depression, fatigue, anger, and tension than those with good sleep quality (all p < 0.001), whereas students with good sleep quality showed higher vigour (13.79 ± 5.39 vs. 11.59 ± 5.36; p < 0.001). Inactive/low-PA students showed higher depression and fatigue scores than more active groups, whereas the high-PA group showed the highest vigour scores. Conclusions: Mood-state profiles were associated with sleep quality, PA, and psychosocial and academic factors. Health promotion strategies in higher education should prioritise sleep quality, accessible PA, recovery, time management, and support for vulnerable profiles.