Effectiveness of exercise intervention on sleep quality and negative emotion among female college students with anxiety

Objective To investigate the effect of exercise intervention on sleep quality of female college students with anxiety, and to further explore the mediating effect of negative emotions in this association. Methods Seventy female college students were randomly divided into experimental group (34 patients) and control group (36 patients). The experimental group received eight-week aerobic exercise and yoga training. The control group received no training. Sleep Quality Scale, Negative Emotion Scale and Anxiety Self-rating Scale were used to assess the level of sleep and negative emotion before and after exercise intervention. Results After exercise intervention, sleep quality (4.31±1.26), anxiety (36.41±7.32) and negative emotion (2.37±0.50) in the experimental group significantly improved (P<0.01), no similar changes were found in the control group (P<0.05). By examining the mediating effects, negative emotions played a partial mediating role in the association between exercise and sleep quality (t=6.77, P<0.01). Conclusion Exercise intervention significantly improved the quality of sleep and negative emotion among female college students with anxiety. Negative emotions play a partial role in the positive effect of exercise on sleep quality.