ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1590573
Time-effect relationship between spare-time exercise and sleep quality in middle school student by parallel latent growth and crosslagged panel model
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- 2Communication University of China, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 3Tsinghua University, Beijing, Beijing, China
- 4Beijing Sport University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 5Minzu University of China, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 6The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China
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Introduction: Sleep quality (SQ) is an important factor affecting the life and academic performance of secondary school students, and it has been found that spare-time exercise (STE) can improve SQ, but the psychological mechanism and timeliness have not been elucidated. Therefore, this study analyzed it using cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and parallel latent growth modelling (PLGM). Methods: A total of 894 students from six secondary schools in Beijing, China, participated in the study. Participants were monitored over time through three 4-month intervals (T1, T2, T3) using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis was conducted using Pearson's test, CLPM, and PLGM.Results: Correlation results showed a significant negative correlation between STE and SQ across the 3 measures (r=[-0.31, -0.14]; P<0.01). PSQI results showed a linear decreasing trend in STE (slope=-0.04, P<0.01) and a linear increasing trend in SQ (slope=0.02, P<0.01) among secondary school students across the 3 time periods. CLPM results showed that the initial level of STE negatively predicted the initial level and subsequent growth rate of SQ (β=-0.20, P<0.01). The decreasing rate of STE significantly predicted the later SQ growth rate β=-0.06, P<0.01). ( 4) STE was a negative predictor of SQ (β=-0.17, P<0.01). Conclusion: (1) Initial levels of STE in secondary school students negatively predicted the rate of development of SQ over the course of the study, and higher levels of STE may have been a protective factor in the development of SQ levels. (2) The effect of STE on SQ was more stable, negatively predicting SQ at the next time point for all three measurements. SQ, on the other hand, had no significant effect on changes in STE. (3) STE decreases over time, so continued exercise and intensity are key to improving SQ.
Keywords: Exercise, sleep quality, Middle school student, parallel latent growth modeling, Crosslagged panel model
Received: 09 Mar 2025; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Mo, Bu, Liu, Gao, Dong, Jiang and Huang. 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: Da Huang, Communication University of China, Beijing, 100024, Beijing Municipality, China
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