ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1563237
•The Relationship Between Trait Anxiety and Sleep Quality in College Students: An Exploratory Analysis of Physical Activity as a Moderator
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang Open University Linhai College, shanghai, China
- 2Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 3Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai, China
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Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between trait anxiety and sleep quality among college students and to assess whether different levels and components of physical activity (PA) moderate this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,902 college students. Standardized instruments were used to evaluate trait anxiety, sleep quality, and PA levels. Moderation regression models were constructed to test interaction effects. Results: Trait anxiety was significantly associated with decreased overall sleep quality and impairments across all sleep subdimensions. PA level significantly moderated the relationships between trait anxiety and four dimensions of sleep: sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction. Stronger buffering effects were observed under conditions of high intensity, long duration, and high frequency of PA. Conclusion: High-intensity, long-duration, and highfrequency physical activity may help alleviate anxiety-related sleep disturbances in college students, exhibiting a clear dose-response effect. The findings support exercise as a nonpharmacological strategy for improving mental health.
Keywords: physical activity, college students, trait anxiety, sleep quality, Moderating effects
Received: 19 Jan 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhong, Ma, Li and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ling Yu, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai, China
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