ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Sport Psychology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1604916

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Cognitive Era in Sports Performance: Mental Fatigue, Cognitive Training, Sleep and Psychological Ergogenic Substances-Volume IIView all 5 articles

The effect of physical exercise on sleep quality in university students: chain mediation of health literacy and life satisfaction

Provisionally accepted
Mo-Han  HeMo-Han He1Tian-Yu  ZhaoTian-Yu Zhao2Wei-Dong  ZhuWei-Dong Zhu1Hu  LouHu Lou1Ding-You  ZhangDing-You Zhang1Fan-Zheng  MuFan-Zheng Mu1Xin-Yu  ZhangXin-Yu Zhang1Yu-han  LiYu-han Li1Wen-Hao  ZhangWen-Hao Zhang1Qi  LiuQi Liu1Jia-Qiang  WangJia-Qiang Wang1Chen-Xi  LiChen-Xi Li1Hao-Yu  LiHao-Yu Li1Ning  ZhouNing Zhou1Yao  ZhangYao Zhang1Hao-Jie  ZuoHao-Jie Zuo1Wei  WangWei Wang1Xiao-Yu  WangXiao-Yu Wang1Bo-Chun  LuBo-Chun Lu1Lin-Lin  ZhaoLin-Lin Zhao3Shan-Shan  HanShan-Shan Han1Ya-Xing  LiYa-Xing Li4Yang-Sheng  ZhangYang-Sheng Zhang5Ling-Li  XuLing-Li Xu1Yu-Yan  QianYu-Yan Qian1Chuan-Yi  XuChuan-Yi Xu6Han  LiHan Li7Shuo  FengShuo Feng8Qing  ZhangQing Zhang9Jian-Gang  SunJian-Gang Sun10Lan-Lan  YangLan-Lan Yang1Bo  LiBo Li1*Fei  GuFei Gu1*
  • 1Nantong University, Nantong, China
  • 2Shangqiu Medical College, Shangqiu, Henan Province, China
  • 3School of Physical Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
  • 4Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, Henan Province, China
  • 5Physical Education of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
  • 6Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangx, China
  • 7Ordos Institute of Technology, Ordos, China
  • 8Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, Henan, China
  • 9Yangling Vocational and Technical College, Yangling, China
  • 10West Anhui University, Lu'an, Anhui, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The present study was designed to explore the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality. Specifically, it investigates the extent to which this relationship is mediated by a sequential process involving health literacy and life satisfaction.【 Methods 】 : Data on physical exercise, sleep quality, health literacy, and life satisfaction were collected from a sample of 12,646 college students (study participants) using a questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS and AMOS software, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis.【 Results 】 : Correlation analyses revealed a weak positive correlation between physical exercise and sleep quality (r=0.290), a significant positive correlation between physical exercise and health literacy (r=0.203, p<0.01), and a significant positive correlation between physical exercise and life satisfaction (r =0.374, p<0.01).Conversely, sleep quality exhibited a significant negative correlation with health literacy (r=-0.091, p <0.01) and a significant negative correlation with life satisfaction (r=-0.228, p<0.01). Health literacy and life satisfaction were significantly positively correlated (r=0.352, p<0.01). Regression analysis indicated that physical exercise did not directly and significantly predict sleep quality (β=-0.010). This study exhibits a complete mediation effect. However, mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of physical exercise on sleep quality through health literacy (95% CI: [-0.022, -0.013]) and life satisfaction (95% CI: [-0.024, -0.015]). Furthermore, a significant chain-mediating effect was observed, wherein physical exercise influenced sleep 4 / 45 quality sequentially through health literacy and life satisfaction (95% CI: [-0.018, -0.013]). The non-significant direct effect of physical exercise on sleep quality and the significant indirect impact suggest that the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality is primarily mediated through health literacy and life satisfaction. These findings highlight the crucial role of health literacy and life satisfaction as mediators in this relationship. 【Conclusion】: While physical exercise did not exert a direct and significant effect on sleep quality in this study, the significant mediating roles of health literacy and life satisfaction suggest potential avenues for intervention. Specifically, these findings imply that multifaceted approaches, encompassing strategies to promote physical activity, enhance health literacy, and improve life satisfaction, may improve sleep quality among college students.

Keywords: physical exercise, Quality of Sleep, Health Literacy, life satisfaction, and the chain mediating effect

Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 He, Zhao, Zhu, Lou, Zhang, Mu, Zhang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Wang, Li, Li, Zhou, Zhang, Zuo, Wang, Wang, Lu, Zhao, Han, Li, Zhang, Xu, Qian, Xu, Li, Feng, Zhang, Sun, Yang, Li and Gu. 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:
Bo Li, Nantong University, Nantong, China
Fei Gu, Nantong University, Nantong, China

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