scholarly journals Mental Health Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemics and the Mitigation Effects of Exercise: A Longitudinal Study of College Students in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Haoyu Zhang ◽  
Xindong Ma ◽  
Qian Di
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
College Students ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Death Count

(1) Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health emergency that has caused worldwide concern. Vast resources have been allocated to control the pandemic and treat patients. However, little attention has been paid to the adverse impact on mental health or effective mitigation strategies to improve mental health. (2) Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the adverse impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Chinese college students’ mental health, understand the underlying mechanisms, and explore feasible mitigation strategies. (3) Methods: During the peak time of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, we conducted longitudinal surveys of sixty-six college students. Structured questionnaires collected information on demographics, physical activity, negative emotions, sleep quality, and aggressiveness level. A mixed-effect model was used to evaluate associations between variables, and the mediating effect of sleep quality was further explored. A generalized additive model was used to determine the dose-response relationships between the COVID-19 death count, physical activity, and negative emotions. (4) Results: The COVID-19 death count showed a direct negative impact on general sleep quality (β = 1.37, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.55, 2.19) and reduced aggressiveness (β = −6.57, 95% CI: −12.78, −0.36). In contrast, the COVID-19 death count imposed not a direct but an indirect impact on general negative emotions (indirect effect (IE) = 0.81, p = 0.012), stress (IE = 0.40, p < 0.001), and anxiety (IE = 0.27, p = 0.004) with sleep quality as a mediator. Moreover, physical activity directly alleviated general negative emotions (β = −0.12, 95% CI: −0.22, −0.01), and the maximal mitigation effect occurred when weekly physical activity was about 2500 METs. (5) Conclusions: (a) The severity of the COVID-19 outbreak has an indirect effect on negative emotions by affecting sleep quality. (b) A possible mitigation strategy for improving mental health includes taking suitable amounts of daily physical activity and sleeping well. (c) The COVID-19 outbreak has reduced people’s aggressiveness, probably by making people realize the fragility and preciousness of life.

Physical activity and sleep quality in relation to mental health among college students

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 627-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amer K. Ghrouz ◽  
Majumi Mohamad Noohu ◽  
Md. Dilshad Manzar ◽  
David Warren Spence ◽  
Ahmed S. BaHammam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
College Students ◽  
Sleep Quality

scholarly journals Association of Sedentary Behavior With Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide Ideation in College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyuan Jiang ◽  
Yong Cao ◽  
Shuangfei Ni ◽  
Xiang Chen ◽  
Minxue Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
College Students ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Objectives: To investigate the association of sedentary behavior with anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation in multi-centered college students in China.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of the first-year college student population. The students underwent a questionnaire survey inquiring about sedentary behavior (hours per day) and physical activity (minutes per week) during the past year. Anxiety, depression, and sleep quality were measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. Mixed models were used to estimate the associations, and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were presented as the effect size. Mediation effect analysis was conducted to test the mediation effect of PSQI.Results: A total of 28,298 participants (response rate: 82%) completed the survey and were included in the final analyses. Crude and adjusted estimates consistently showed that both sedentary behavior and physical activity were significantly associated with mental illnesses. Sedentary behavior was positively associated with anxiety, depression, and suicidal behavior in a dose-response manner (AOR: 0.54–0.24; ≥7 h/day as reference), independent from the effect of physical activity (AOR: 0.78–0.41; no physical activity as reference). The association of sedentary behavior with mental health was partly mediated by sleep quality (25–71%).Conclusions: There is an independent dose-response association of sedentary behavior with mental well-being among college students in China, and this association may be partially attributable to impaired sleep quality. Attention should be drawn and actions should be taken by college educators and mental health providers.

scholarly journals Mediating Effect of Perceived Stress on the Association between Physical Activity and Sleep Quality among Chinese College Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Xiangyu Zhai ◽  
Na Wu ◽  
Sakura Koriyama ◽  
Can Wang ◽  
Mengyao Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
College Students ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Coping With Stress ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
Pharmaceutical Therapy

Background: While physical activity has been reported to positively affect stress and sleep quality, less is known about the potential relationships among them. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of stress on the association between physical activity and sleep quality in Chinese college students, after controlling for age, nationality, and tobacco and alcohol use. Participants: The sample comprised 6973 college students representing three Chinese universities. Methods: Physical activity, perceived stress, and sleep quality were respectively measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (IPAQ-SF), Perceived Stress Scale—10 Items (PSS-10), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: Mediating effects of perceived stress on the association between physical activity and sleep quality were observed in males and females, with 42.4% (partial mediating effect) and 306.3% (complete mediating effect) as percentages of mediation, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study may provide some suggestions that physical activity could improve sleep by aiding individuals in coping with stress and indicate that stress management might be an effective non-pharmaceutical therapy for sleep improvement.

scholarly journals The mediating role of resilience in the effects of physical exercise on college students’ negative emotions during the COVID-19 epidemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuening Li ◽  
Huasen Yu ◽  
Ning Yang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Home Based

AbstractDue to its suddenness and unpredictability, COVID-19 caused strife and effects on public mental health, resulting in a surge of negative emotions. The study explores the relationship between physical exercise and negative emotions in home-based college students during the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the mediating role of resilience, thus providing a new basis for understanding the role of physical exercise in improving negative emotions in college students; A total of 1214 college students were investigated with the Physical Exercise Questionnaire, Negative Emotion Scale and Resilience Scale; Both physical exercise and resilience were significantly negatively correlated with negative emotions in college students (r = − 0.25, − 0.33, P < 0.001), and there was a significant positive correlation between physical exercise and resilience (r = 0.47, P < 0.001). Physical exercise had a direct effect on the negative emotions of college students (β = − 0.14, P < 0.001). Resilience had a partial mediating effect between physical exercise and the negative emotions of the college students, with a mediating effect value of 0.14 and a mediating effect contribution rate of 50.00%; The study found that physical exercise not only directly affected the negative emotions of college students but also improved their resilience by slowing down their negative emotions and promoting their mental health.

The Association Among Social Support, Self-Efficacy, Use of Mobile Apps, and Physical Activity: Structural Equation Models With Mediating Effects (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taotao Wang ◽  
Mengyuan Ren ◽  
Ying Shen ◽  
Xiaorou Zhu ◽  
Xing Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
College Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Support Level ◽  
Physical Activity Levels

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity is a risk factor for chronic noncommunicable diseases. Insufficient physical activity has become an important public health problem worldwide. As mobile apps have rapidly developed, physical activity apps have the potential to improve the level of physical activity among populations. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the effect of physical activity apps on levels of physical activity among college students. METHODS A Web-based questionnaire was used to survey college students in Beijing from December 27, 2017, to January 5, 2018. According to a previous survey, 43% of college students using physical activity apps and 36% of those who never used such apps achieved the physical activity recommendations. In this study, the sample size was calculated to be 500. The questionnaire consisted of 5 parts: the use of physical activity apps, sports habits, social support, self-efficacy, and social demographic information. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between the use of physical activity apps, self-efficacy, social support, and level of physical activity. RESULTS Of the 1245 participants, 384 college students (30.8%) used physical activity apps (in the past month). Of these 384 students, 191 (49.7%) gained new friends via the app. College students who were using physical activity apps had a higher level of physical activity and higher scores for social support and self-efficacy (<italic>P</italic>&lt;.001) than those who did not use such apps. The use of physical activity apps significantly affected the mediating effect of physical activity level through social support (beta=.126; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.001) and self-efficacy (beta=.294; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.001). Gender played an important role in app use, self-efficacy, and physical activity in the mediation model: male users spent more time on physical activity and had higher self-efficacy scores (<italic>P</italic>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS This study focused on college students in Beijing and found that the use of physical activity apps is associated with higher physical activity levels among these students. This effect is mainly through the mediation effect of social support and self-efficacy, rather than the direct effect of physical activity apps. The use of physical activity apps is associated with a higher social support level and higher self-efficacy score. Furthermore, a high social support level and high self-efficacy score are associated with higher physical activity levels.

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