Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and The Moderating Role of Mindfulness 

Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and The Moderating Role of Mindfulness | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and The Moderating Role of Mindfulness Xiaopeng Li, Chengli Xu, Wanyi Chen, Jing Tian This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 3 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Although a few studies have examined the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this association. This study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of mindfulness in the association between physical exercise and sleep quality. Methods Data were collected through convenient sampling at five universities in China, a total of 1028 college students, aged 16 to 29 participated in the study. They were recruited to complete the self-report questionnaires measuring their physical exercise, self-control, sleep quality and mindfulness. Results The study found significant associations between physical exercise, sleep quality, self-control and mindfulness of Chinese college students. Specifically, the self-control significantly mediated the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality. In addition, moderated mediation analyses suggest that the association between physical exercise and sleep quality is moderated by mindfulness. The effect was stronger among college students with high mindfulness levels than those with low. Conclusion The findings suggest that the physical exercise have a significant impact on the sleep quality of college student, the influence mediated by self-control, and moderated by mindfulness. Physical exercise Sleep quality Self-control Mindfulness Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Introduction The survey report of the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 27% of people in the world have sleep-related problems, and sleep disorders have become a major threat to public safety in the world. It is worth noting that, insomnia is highly prevalent among college students, as high as 18.5%, much higher than that among other age groups [ 1 ]. At the present time, poor sleep quality is a particularly serious problem among Chinese university students, according to a survey from China, 25.7% of Chinese college students have sleep problems, which is far higher than the 7.4%-15.0% of the general population [ 2 ]. Therefore, many measures to improve the sleep quality of Chinese college students have been proposed in China. In this case, how the physical exercise affects the sleep quality of college students has been widely concerned by researchers. Physical exercise is a physical activity with a certain intensity, frequency, and duration to improve health [ 3 ]. On the one hand, studies have shown that regular physical exercise is a positive and non-drug treatment for those with poor sleep quality. Specifically, physical exercise can improve the negative psychological emotion of college students, such as depression [ 4 ], anxiety [ 5 ] and stress [ 6 ], which could further improve their sleep quality. On the other hand, experimental studies have also shown that regular physical activity in individuals can increase melatonin secretion levels in individuals, which can enhance their sleep quality [ 7 ]. All the benefits of physical exercise mentioned above can help to improve college student’s sleep quality. Consideration of the above, we proposed the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 1 Physical exercise may have a positive impact on sleep quality among Chinese college students. [] Although the positive relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality has been proved, the research on the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relationship is still limited. It is necessary to explore the influencing factors and potential influence mechanisms of physical exercise on sleep quality of college students. Therefore, this study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the underlying mechanisms between physical exercise and sleep quality. Considering previous studies have found that self-control plays a significant mediating role between physical exercise and health problems such as sedentary behavior [ 8 ], and a strong link exists between sedentary behavior and sleep quality among Chinese college students [ 9 ], therefore, we introduced self-control to further examine whether it mediates the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality. In addition, previous studies have proven that mindfulness is a strong enhancer that can enhance the positive impact of physical exercise on a healthy lifestyle [ 10 ], and mindfulness can play a moderating role between healthy lifestyle and sleep quality in college students [ 11 ]. Therefore, the present study introduces mindfulness to explore its moderating role in the above mediating model. The Mediating Role of Self-control Self-control is the ability of an individual to regulate reactions to overcome impulses, which requires individuals to independently adjust their behavior and conform to social expectations and their own values by changing their own behavior, way of thinking, and level of consciousness [ 12 ]. It has been verified that an individual's self-control is consistently and closely related to health behaviours, specifically, an individual's self-control is positively related to health-promoting behaviours and negatively related to health-damaging behaviours [ 13 ]. Poor sleep quality among college students due to sleep latency is an unhealthy behaviour that implies a failure of individual self-control [ 14 ]. This means that college students succumb to other temptations before going to sleep resulting in delayed sleep and poor sleep quality. Based on the fact that self-control is a limited resource, relevant studies further show that college students conduct a lot of self-control resources during the day, resulting in the least self-control resources at night, it means there is a greater tendency for sleep procrastination in individuals with relatively depleted self-control resources, which can lead to poorer sleep quality [ 15 ]. Physical exercise has been shown to be an effective way to improve individual self-control. Specifically, individuals who participate in regular physical activity tend to have higher levels of self-control, which in turn affected the management of individuals’ resources to implement goal-directed behaviors to achieve long-term goals, such as developing healthy sleep habits [ 16 ]. Interestingly, it has been reported that self-control can play a mediating role between physical exercise and healthy lifestyle habits in college students [ 17 ], and an experimental study has also observed that aerobic exercise may be a potentially effective intervention to enhance self-control in female college students, which could be beneficial in helping college students develop healthy habits [ 18 ]. Sleep quality is an important organizing component of healthy lifestyle habits. Although there is no direct evidence that self-control can directly mediate the relationship between physical activity and sleep quality, considering the similarities between sleep quality and healthy lifestyle habits, we hypothesized that self-control may can play a mediating role in the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 2 Self-control may act as a mediator in the link between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. The Moderating Role of Mindfulness Mindfulness refers to being aware of the present reality or current experience in an accepting or non-judgmental way [ 19 ]. Previous research has shown that high mindfulness could promote physical and mental health such as sleep quality, positive effects, and self-control [ 20 – 21 ]. In recent years, a growing number of studies have confirmed that high levels of mindfulness can play an enhancing or buffering role in self-control, and sleep quality in college students, such as Lentz and Brown [ 22 ] suggested that the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality was intensified for college students with high mindfulness. According to the re-perceiving model of mindfulness, mindfulness can help people re-perceive the moment-by-moment experience with greater objectivity, get rid of automatic behavioral and emotional patterns, and facilitate adaptive responses to negative stimulation [ 23 ], which means that mindfulness can buffer the adverse effects of negative factors on an individual. Indeed, it is also true that previous studies have confirmed that mindfulness can buffer the adverse effects of negativity, such as Davis [ 24 ] showed that mindfulness can relieve college students' anxiety, depression, and other negative psychological emotions, which has been proven to be one of the important factors for promoting college students to improve their sleep quality. In other words, mindfulness buffer individuals from psychological distress, which can help people avoid sleep disorders and improve sleep quality on a psychological level. Furthermore, according to the Protection-protection model, two different protective factors will interact with each other, increasing or decreasing the outcome [ 25 ]. Specifically, the enhancing interaction hypothesis suggests that the effect of one protective factor (e.g., physical exercise) on its outcome (e.g., self-control) may be enhanced by another protective factor (e.g., mindfulness). Namely, individuals with high levels of mindfulness showed stronger associations between physical exercise and self-control than individuals with low levels of mindfulness. For example, a study indicated that the relationships between physical exercise and self-control were moderated by mindfulness, in that they were stronger for adolescents with higher levels of mindfulness [ 26 ]. Another study indicated that the direct effect of deprivation effects on sleep quality and its indirect effect through social anxiety were both moderated by mindfulness, in that those two effects were weaker in individuals with high levels of mindfulness [ 27 ]. Thus, mindfulness serves as an important protective factor that can reinforce the positive effects of physical activity. In other words, the link between physical activity and sleep quality, as well as the link between physical activity and self-control, may be moderated by mindfulness. Furthermore, according to previous studies on the combination of mediation and moderation models [ 28 – 29 ], if self-control mediated the relation between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students, and mindfulness moderated the association between sleep quality and self-control simultaneously. There would be a moderated mediation model in which self-control acted as a mediator and mindfulness acted as a moderator in the link between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. Above all, we propose the hypothesis as follows: Hypothesis 3 Mindfulness would moderate the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality as well as physical exercise and self-control, with the relationship being stronger for individuals with high levels of mindfulness. The Present Study This study tested the mechanisms underlying the relation between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students. Specifically, we examined a moderated mediation model to answer four questions: (a) whether physical exercise would have a positive impact on sleep quality; (b) whether self-control would mediate the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality; (c) whether mindfulness would moderate the link between physical exercise and sleep quality, and (d) whether mindfulness would moderate the mediating effect of self-control. Taken together, we proposed a moderated mediation model ( Fig. 1 ) . Material Participants A total of 1141 students participated in our study, after removing participants who provided incomplete information and completed the survey in an unrealistically short time, there were 1028 in the final sample, which were used as the final data of this study. There were 487 (47.37%) males and 541 (52.63%) females among them. Their average age was 19.14 years old (SD = 1.85), ranging from 16 to 29 years old. Sample characteristics are shown in Table 1 . Table 1 Basic demographic information about the participants. Variable Options Frequency Percentage Gender Males 487 47.37% Females 541 52.63% Age 16–20 881 85.70% 21–25 136 13.23% 26–29 11 1.07% Grade Freshman 399 38.79% Sophomore 395 38.45% Junior 105 10.17% Senior 129 2.76% Freshman graduate 19 1.90% Sophomore graduate 32 3.10% Junior graduate 50 4.83% Procedure Data were collected through an online platform called Wen Juan Xing ( https://www.wjx.cn/ ) from May 24th to Jun 21th, 2022, and the data were collected through convenience sampling from 5 comprehensive universities in Hubei Province, a major province in central China. Prior to the study, all participants received an electronic informed consent, which provided detailed information about the survey and its procedure. Meanwhile, participants were instructed they could terminate their participation at any time without any repercussions. Students who agreed to participate then completed the surveys by scanning the Quick Response (QR) code of the questionnaire by the school with their mobile phones or computers. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Scientific Research at the authors’ institution before data collection. Measurements Physical Exercise This study used the Chinese version Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), which was prepared by Chinese scholar Liang [ 30 ]. This scale measures the exercise intensity, exercise time, and exercise frequency of the participants to assess their physical activity level. The exercise frequency and intensity were scored from 1–5, and the exercise time was scored from 0–4. The physical activity level of the test subjects was calculated according to the formula of physical activity amount = exercise intensity × (exercise time − 1) × exercise frequency. The higher the score measured by the scale, the higher the level of physical activity of the participants. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the PARS-3 was 0.79. Sleep Quality The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used in this study, this scale has proved to be a very widely used scale in scientific research [ 31 ]. There are 19 items included in the 7 factors of this scale, including sleep quality, sleep time, sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, hypnotic drugs, and daytime dysfunction. When calculating scores, all items are calculated according to the 4-point scoring rule of 0–3. and the final score is obtained by adding the scores of 7 items. The higher the participants' scores, the worse their sleep quality. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the PSQI was 0.82. Self-control The Chinese version of the Self-Control Scale was used in our study [ 32 ]. In this scale, there are 19 items are divided into 5 factors, including resisting temptation, impulse control, healthy habits, task performance, and entertainment temperance. Participants responded to the 19 items on a five points Likert-type scale ranging from 1(not at all) to 5(very much), with a higher total score signifying better self-control. In the current study, the items demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.82). Mindfulness In the study, we used the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure [ 33 ] to measure the level of the participants’ mindfulness. There are 10 items on this scale, and participants need to answer according to Likert's 5-point scoring method, and the range is 0 (never) to 4 (always). All the answers were averaged after reversing the reverse scoring items, which means that the higher the score of participants, the higher the level of mindfulness in daily life. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the CAMM was 0.81. Data Analysis Considering that this study adopts the method of the questionnaire survey, there may be the risk of common method bias. Thus, we tested it by using the Harman single-factor method [ 34 ], the results showed that there were 10 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, among which the variation explained by the first factor was 14.79%, which was less than the critical criterion of 40%. Therefore, it could be concluded that there was no significant common method bias in the data of this study. The data entry, management, and descriptive statistics were performed by SPSS 25.0. Firstly, descriptive analysis of the main variables and Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Secondly, the SPSS macro-PROCESS (Model 8) Version 3.3 suggested by Hayes [ 35 ] was used to test the moderated mediation model. In addition, simple slopes analyses were performed to test all the potential significant interaction effects [ 36 ]. Results Preliminary Analyses The means, standard deviations, and correlations for all of the observed variables are presented in Table 2 . As hypothesized, physical exercise was positively correlated with both self-control ( r = 0.32, p < 0.01) and sleep quality ( r = − 0.26, p < 0.01) (with higher PSQI scores indicating worse sleep quality, the same below). Self-control was positively correlated with both sleep quality (r = − 0.40, p < 0.01) and mindfulness ( r = 0.29, p < 0.01). Mindfulness was positively correlated with sleep quality ( r = − 0.51, p < 0.01). Table 2 Descriptive statistics and interrelations among all of the observed variables. Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Gender - - 1 2. Age 19.14 1.85 -0.03 1 3. Physical exercise 2.48 1.03 -0.34 ** 0.22 ** 1 4. Self-control 3.3 0.63 -0.07 * 0.23 0.32 ** 1 5. Sleep quality 4.93 2.9 0.11 ** -0.02 -0.26 ** -0.40 ** 1 6. Mindfulness 2.47 0.72 -0.10 ** 0.06 0.13 ** 0.29 ** -0.51 ** 1 Note. N = 1028. ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05 Testing for the Proposed Moderated Mediation Model In this study, we adopted Hayes’s (2013) PROCESS macro (Model 8) to examine the proposed moderated mediation model. The main results of the moderated mediation analysis were shown in Fig. 2 and Table 3 . As expected, physical exercise positively predicts self-control ( B = 0.21, p < 0.001), and sleep quality ( B = -0.41, p < 0.001), self-control positively predicts sleep quality ( B = -0.96, p < 0.001). Furthermore, after the inclusion of mediation variables, the mediation model test results showed that self-control significantly mediated the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality ( Z = -8.04, p < 0.001). The above results show that physical exercise can improve the sleep quality of college students, and this relationship is mediated by self-control. Thus, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported. Table 3 Regression results for the conditional indirect effect (moderated mediation). Model Model 1 : Total effect model (outcome variable : sleep quality) R R 2 F df 1 df 2 p B SE t p 0.26 0.07 24.97 3 1024 < 0.001 Constant 5.41 *** 0.97 5.59 0.05 Age 0.06 0.05 1.15 > 0.05 Physical exercise -0.72 *** 0.09 -7.8 < 0.001 Model 2 : Mediator variable model (outcome variable : self-control) R R 2 F df 1 df 2 p B SE t p 0.45 0.21 53.25 5 1022 < 0.001 Constant 3.55 *** 0.19 18.25 0.05 Age -0.02 0.01 -1.81 > 0.05 Physical exercise 0.21 *** 0.02 11.04 < 0.001 Mindfulness 0.22 *** 0.03 8.69 < 0.001 Physical exercise × Mindfulness -0.15 *** 0.02 -6.48 < 0.001 Model 3 : Dependent variable model (outcome variable : sleep quality) R R 2 F df 1 df 2 p B SE t p 0.6 0.36 97.18 6 1021 < 0.001 Constant 6.80 *** 0.92 7.39 0.05 Age 0.06 0.04 1.42 > 0.05 Physical exercise -0.42 *** 0.08 -5.19 < 0.001 Self-control -0.96 *** 0.13 -7.47 < 0.001 Mindfulness -1.72 *** 0.11 -16.16 < 0.001 Physical exercise × Mindfulness 0.47 *** 0.09 4.96 < 0.001 Conditional direct effect analysis at values of mindfulness ( M ± SD ) B Boot SE LLCI ULCI M − 1SD (1.75) -0.78 0.12 -1.01 -0.55 M (2.47) -0.41 0.08 -0.57 -0.25 M + 1SD (3.22) -0.08 0.1 -0.28 0.11 Conditional indirect effect analysis at values of mindfulness ( M ± SD ) B Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI M − 1SD (1.75) -0.31 0.05 -0.41 -0.21 M (2.47) -0.19 0.03 -0.26 -0.13 M + 1SD (3.22) -0.1 0.03 -0.15 -0.05 Note. N = 1028. Unstandardized regression coefficients are reported. Bootstrap sample size = 5000. LL = low limit, CI = confidence interval, UL = upper limit. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001. On the one hand, in order to examine Hypothesis 3 , two interaction effects were analyzed with PROCESS macro (Model 8) by Hayes (2013). There was a significant physical exercise × mindfulness effect on self-control ( B = -0.15, p < 0.001) in the mediator variable. A significant physical exercise × mindfulness effect on sleep quality ( B = 0.47, p < 0.001) in the dependent variable model. These results indicate that the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality is moderated by mindfulness, and the relationship between physical exercise and self-control is also moderated by mindfulness. On the other hand, in order to illustrate the role of moderating variables in the overall model, simple slope analyses were conducted in our study. The high-mindfulness group was divided, and the low-mindfulness group also was divided (1 SD below the mean and 1 SD above the mean), and Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 was plotted based on the results. As shown in Fig. 3 , the effect of physical exercise on self-control was stronger for students with higher mindfulness ( B = 0.32, t = 12.13, p < 0.001) than for those with lower mindfulness ( B = 0.10, t = 4.18, p 0.05) than for those with lower mindfulness ( B = -0.08, t = -0.82, p < 0.001). Discussion Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality The present study demonstrates that physical exercise significantly and positively correlates with the sleep quality of college students. These findings are consistent with prior research investigating the impact of physical activity on sleep quality among college students [ 37 ]. Thus, Hypothesis 1 has been confirmed. However, our study further suggests that multiple factors may underlie the positive association between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students, with both physiological and psychological aspects providing explanatory frameworks for these results. From a physiological perspective, numerous studies have established a clear connection between body temperature regulation and sleep quality. For example, physical exercise triggers an elevation in central, skin, and cerebral temperatures. Consequently, under the thermoregulatory mechanism, peripheral blood vessels dilate, facilitating heat emission to the periphery and resulting in a decrease in overall body temperature. Research indicates that a reduction in body temperature by 0.5-1°C enhances the likelihood of falling asleep and promotes better sleep quality Moreover, post-exercise changes in body surface temperature, particularly the gradient between distal and proximal skin temperatures, may serve as a pivotal factor in initiating sleep onset for individuals [ 38 ]. Additionally, exercise induces alterations in serotonin, epinephrine, melatonin, and cortisol levels, all of which have been linked to variations in sleep quality [ 7 ]. From a psychological point of view, improving college students’ emotional state through exercise has been shown to be an important additional factor to improve their sleep quality [ 39 ]. Specifically, many adverse psychological emotions such as anxiety, depression [ 4 ] and stress [ 6 ] could affect sleep quality of college students. Further studies have shown that improving the above-mentioned psychological emotions can enhance the sleep quality of college students [ 40 ]. In summary, our study shows that, on the one hand, proper physical activity can help college students fall asleep faster and have a better sleep quality. Several physiological factors such as hormones, fatigue and body temperature changes may provide an explanation for this phenomenon. On the other hand, engaging in appropriate physical activity can also alleviate the psychological distress of college students, which can improve their sleep quality from a psychological perspective. The Mediating Role of Self-Control Our study elucidates the mediating role of self-control in influencing the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. In line with previous research, self-control has been identified as a mediator in the association between physical activity and the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Our investigation extends this understanding by demonstrating that self-control significantly moderates the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students. Specifically, Chinese college students who regularly participate in physical exercise exhibit higher levels of self-control, leading to enhanced sleep quality. As illustrated in the first half of this study, according to the Self-control Resource Model, when college students conduct self-control activities during the day and consume part of their self-control resources, their self-control resources are often deficient at night. At this time, college students are not easy to resist temptation (such as using mobile phones, etc.), which can disrupt sleep patterns and reduce sleep quality. However, it has been confirmed that physical exercise could improve the self-control ability of college students 8 , that is, college students who often participate in physical exercise often have a higher level of self-control ability and more self-control resources, which makes it easier for them to resist various external temptations and improve their sleep quality. In other words, adequate sleep can improve individuals’ self-control ability, when they have more self-control resources, they are more likely to resist temptation, make sleep a higher priority, and get better sleep quality. Our study further suggests that through physical exercise to improve self-control ability could improve the sleep quality of college students, which may serve as a theoretical guideline for future family education and school education in improving sleep quality of college students. The Moderating Role of Mindfulness One significant finding from our study was the potential moderation effect of mindfulness on the relationship between physical exercise and self-control. Specifically, individuals exhibiting higher levels of mindfulness appeared to exert a stronger moderating influence on the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality via self-control. This outcome suggests that mindfulness, as a positive personality trait, may enhance the self-control capacities of college students during physical exercise. As their self-control strengthens, they are better equipped to resist negative temptations, thereby potentially improving their sleep quality. This finding is consistent with the enhancing interaction hypothesis in the protective model [ 41 ], which posits that both mindfulness and self-control serve as protective factors, with each factor enhancing the effects of the other. According to the enhanced interaction hypothesis, individuals with elevated levels of mindfulness are more likely to recognize the detrimental effects of staying up late on their health, thus demonstrating a propensity to retire to bed earlier. Serving as another protective factor, self-control furnishes individuals with the necessary executive function to resist temptation and facilitate expedited sleep onset, thereby augmenting the influence process outlined above. Furthermore, this finding also further supports the Metacognitive Model of Insomnia [ 42 ]. which contends that an individual's ability to accurately observe internal and external experiences (e.g., mindfulness) and respond appropriately to external stimuli related to sleep significantly influence sleep quality. This suggests that college students with heightened mindfulness are more attuned to both their internal and external experiences, thereby gaining a clearer appreciation of the health benefits associated with improved sleep quality. Armed with this understanding, they are more likely to exhibit enhanced executive function and engage in activities conducive to sleep promotion, such as physical exercise and recreational pursuits, to alleviate their physical and emotional states. Consequently, individuals with elevated mindfulness levels tend to exhibit greater adaptability in addressing sleep disorders, often resorting to positive coping mechanisms like engaging in physical exercise and managing their emotional state to bolster their self-control capacities, thereby potentially enhancing their sleep quality. Additionally, another noteworthy finding in our study is the positive impact of physical exercise on sleep quality, with mindfulness playing a regulating role in this process. Specifically, the influence of physical exercise on sleep quality was found to be more pronounced among individuals with elevated levels of mindfulness. This result further supports the re-perceiving model of mindfulness, which posits that the reevaluation of external stimuli enables individuals to attain a clearer, more objective, and positive perspective on their circumstances. Consequently, college students with heightened mindfulness levels tend to engage in re-perception of their current situations. For instance, when experiencing muscle soreness and fatigue following physical activity, individuals with high levels of mindfulness are inclined to view these sensations as indicators of muscle strengthening rather than reasons to discontinue exercise due to physical discomfort. In addition, college students with a high level of mindfulness can also have a clearer understanding of this behavior. They are aware that physical exercise is beneficial to physical health, such as improve physical fitness and sleep quality and so on [ 43 ]. As a result, college students with elevated mindfulness levels are more likely to persist in their exercise routines as part of their commitment to cultivating a healthy lifestyle. This proactive approach to physical activity has the potential to positively impact the sleep quality of college students, contributing to their overall health and well-being. Limitations and future directions Although our study contributes new evidence regarding the mediating role of self-control and the moderating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students, it is essential to recognize several limitations. Firstly, our study utilized a cross-sectional design, which precludes establishing definitive causal relationships between variables. Secondly, the use of convenience sampling and the restriction to participants from only Hubei Province may introduce sampling biases and limit the generalizability of our findings. Additionally, our investigation focused solely on two internal factors, namely self-control and mindfulness, without considering a broader array of external influences. To address the limitations of our study and further explore the impact of physical exercise on college students' sleep quality, future research could be enhanced in the following ways: Firstly, given the methodological limitations, subsequent studies should employ longitudinal follow-up research to ascertain the causal relationships between variables more accurately. Secondly, considering the limitations of our sampling methods and participant selection, future research endeavors could broaden the dataset and explore the model using random or stratified sampling techniques to examine diverse and larger cohorts. Lastly, acknowledging the constraints of our current understanding of influencing mechanisms, future research could incorporate additional variables, particularly external factors such as family environment [ 44 ] and school support [ 45 ]. This broader scope of investigation would enable a more comprehensive exploration of how these external factors interact to influence college students' sleep quality. Declarations Ethics Statement The study protocol complied with the ethical guidelines of Central China Normal University, but the ethics committee of Central China Normal University considered that the study protocol was conducted by questionnaire only and no written ethical review report was required. However, the participants provided written informed consent to participate in this study. Data availability The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. Conflict of interest All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Funding General Project of China Social Science Foundation (22BTY009) Author contributions X-PL and W-YC were responsible for the overall development of this study, including the planning of sample collection, data analysis, writing, and polishing of the manuscript. Specifically, W-YC was responsible for providing ideas and analyzing the data, and X-PL was responsible for writing and revising the article. In addition, C-LX, X-PL, J-Tand W-YC were in charge of the data collection of this study, and C-LX provided financial support for this study. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Acknowledgements Thanks to Y M for her contributions to proofreading references and format modification. Moreover, we would like to thank NN W for English language editing service. References Koyanagi A, Stickley A. The association between sleep problems and psychotic symptoms in the general population: a global perspective. Sleep. 2015;38(12):1875–85. Liu QQ, Zhang DJ, Yang XJ, et al. Perceived stress and mobile phone addiction in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model. Comput Hum Behav. 2018;87:247–53. Jiang CM, Zhang YM, Zhang YF, et al. Identification on evaluation of participating degree in physical exercise for both urban and rural residents in China. Chin Sport Sci. 2009;29(5):24–31. Slykerman RF, Thompson JM, Coomarasamy C, et al. Early adolescent physical activity, sleep and symptoms of depression at 16 years of age. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(7):1394–9. Patterson MS, Gagnon LR, Vukelich A, et al. Social networks, group exercise, and anxiety among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2021;69(4):361–9. Herawati K, Gayatri D. The correlation between sleep quality and levels of stress among students in Universitas Indonesia. Enferm Clin. 2019;29:357–61. Chennaoui M, Arnal PJ, Sauvet F, et al. Sleep and exercise: a reciprocal issue? Sleep Med Rev. 2015;20:59–72. Boat R, Williams RA, Dring KJ, et al. Associations of self-control with physical activity, physical fitness, and adiposity in adolescents. Behav Med. 2024;50(1):82–90. Zhang X, Gu X, Zhang T, Keller JM. The mediating roles of sleep quality and sedentary behavior between physical fitness and depression among female college freshmen. J Am Coll Health. 2022;70(5):1528–35. Ruffault A, Bernier M, Juge N, et al. Mindfulness may moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and physical activity: A cross-sectional study. Mindfulness. 2016;7(2):445–4527. Zhang L, Zheng H, Yi M, et al. Prediction of sleep quality among university students after analyzing lifestyles, sports habits, and mental health. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:927619. MacLean EL, Hare B, Nunn CL, et al. The evolution of self-control. P Natl Sci. 2014;111(20):E2140–8. Hagger MS, Gucciardi DF, Turrell AS, et al. Self-control and health‐related behaviour: The role of implicit self‐control, trait self‐control, and lay beliefs in self‐control. Brit J Health Psych. 2019;24(4):764–86. Kroese FM, Evers C, Adriaanse MA, et al. Bedtime procrastination: A self-regulation perspective on sleep insufficiency in the general population. J Health Psychol. 2016;21(5):853–62. Bernecker K, Job V. Too exhausted to go to bed: Implicit theories about willpower and stress predict bedtime procrastination. Brit J Psychol. 2020;111(1):126–47. Eysenck MW, Derakshan N, Santos R, et al. Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory. Emotion. 2007;7(2):336. Hagger MS, Hankonen N, Kangro EM, et al. Trait self-control, social cognition constructs, and intentions: Correlational evidence for mediation and moderation effects in diverse health behaviours. Appl Psychol-Hlth We. 2019;11(3):407–37. Chen X, Zhang G, Yin X, et al. The relationship between self-efficacy and aggressive behavior in boxers: the mediating role of self-control. Front Psychol. 2019;10:212. Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003;84(4):822. Bajaj B, Gupta R, Pande N. Self-esteem mediates the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. Pers Indiv Differ. 2016;94:96–100. Lyddy CJ, Good DJ, Bolino MC et al. The costs of mindfulness at work: The moderating role of mindfulness in surface acting, self-control depletion, and performance outcomes. J Appl Psychol, 2021; 106(12), 1921. Lentz TA, Brown C. Mindfulness and health behaviors in college students: The moderating role of sleep. J Am Coll Health. 2019;67(6):505–14. Shapiro SL, Carlson LE, Astin JA, et al. Mechanisms of mindfulness. J Clin Psychol. 2006;62(3):373–86. Davis TJ, Morris M, Drake MM. The moderation effect of mindfulness on the relationship between adult attachment and wellbeing. Pers Indiv Differ. 2016;96:115–21. Boksem MA, Meijman TF, Lorist MM. Mental fatigue, motivation and action monitoring. Biol Psychol. 2006;72(2):123–32. Stocker E, Englert C, Seiler R. Self-control strength and mindfulness in physical exercise performance: Does a short mindfulness induction compensate for the detrimental ego depletion effect? J Appl Sport Psycho. 2019;31(3):324–39. Xiong M, Chen J, Ye Y. How relative deprivation affects the sleep quality of Chinese college students: testing an integrated model of social anxiety and trait mindfulness. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1111845. Andrade FC, Hoyle RH. A synthesis and meta-analysis of the relationship between trait self-control and healthier practices in physical activity, eating, and sleep domains. Pers Indiv Differ. 2023;205:112095. Guarana CL, Ryu JW, O'Boyle Jr EH, et al. Sleep and self-control: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2021;59:101514. Liang DQ. Stress level of college students and its relationship with physical exercise. Chin Ment Health J, 1994; 8(2). Liu X. Reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Chin J psych. 1996;29:103. Tan SH, Guo YY. Revision of self-control scale for Chinese college students. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2008;16(5):468–70. Greco LA, Baer RA, Smith GT. Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). Psychol Assess. 2011;23(3):606. Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY, et al. Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol. 2003;88(5):879. Hayes A. F.Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford; 2013. Aiken LS. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage google schola. 1991;2:103–35. Bodziony V, Stetson B. Associations between sleep, physical activity, and emotional well-being in emerging young adults: Implications for college wellness program development. J Am Coll Health, 2022; 1–11. Kräuchi K. The thermophysiological cascade leading to sleep initiation in relation to phase of entrainment. Sleep Med Rev. 2007;11(6):439–51. Ghrouz AK, Noohu MM, Manzar D. Physical activity and sleep quality in relation to mental health among college students. Sleep Breath. 2019;23:627–34. Johnston SA, Roskowski C, He Z, et al. Effects of team sports on anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and sleep quality in college students. J Am Coll Health. 2021;69(7):791–7. Wills TA, Vaccaro D, McNamara G. The role of life events, family support, and competence in adolescent substance use: A test of vulnerability and protective factors. Am J Commun Psychol. 1992;20(3):349–74. Ong JC, Ulmer CS, Manber R. Improving sleep with mindfulness and acceptance: a metacognitive model of insomnia. Behav Res Ther. 2012;50(11):651–60. Adams SK, Dimond E, Delmonico MJ, et al. Healthy sleep leads to improved nutrition and exercise in college females. Top Clin Nutr. 2020;35(2):135–43. Counts CJ, Grubin FC, John-Henderson NA. Childhood socioeconomic status and risk in early family environments: predictors of global sleep quality in college students. Sleep health. 2018;4(3):301–6. Wang F, Bíró É. Determinants of sleep quality in college students: A literature review. Explore. 2021;17(2):170–7. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editor assigned by journal 14 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 13 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4576893","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":316338990,"identity":"64c175a3-88ec-4a89-94b6-eac07c9eb3eb","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaopeng Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaopeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":316338991,"identity":"aa189976-d22b-4c8a-af7a-c4fa0e56b3b1","order_by":1,"name":"Chengli Xu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chengli","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""},{"id":316338992,"identity":"01b7b895-dcf8-4652-b694-b76287df084e","order_by":2,"name":"Wanyi Chen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA90lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZjDJ3gAXMCBSC88BkrVIJBCpxZz/jOHngoo7iRtuvk5g/FFzJ7GBvXmbBEPNHZxaLGfkGEvPOPMsccPt3A3MPMeeJTbwHCuTYDj2DKcWgxs8Zsy8bYdzwVoYGw4nNkjkmEkAGbi1nD8D1PIPqOXm2Q2MP0Fa5N8Q0HIgB6ilAajlBu8GBl6wLTz4tVjOSCuW5jl2uH7mmdwNh4EM4zaetGKLhGO4tZjzH974mafmsDHf8bMbH/6oOSzbz354440PNXgcxsABiQWFAwwMB0AMNhCRgFMDSAv7AzBDvgGPqlEwCkbBKBjZAACxAFvKoMTfRQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"South China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wanyi","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":316338993,"identity":"b8b5de4e-6cb9-40f5-bba5-81b29b2ab0ea","order_by":3,"name":"Jing Tian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jing","middleName":"","lastName":"Tian","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-13 14:37:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":59439061,"identity":"7f94f38b-9555-4f99-b4da-d90216227c33","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-01 20:20:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":14636,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe proposed moderated mediation model.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4576893/v1/3597f593d6905d06690e0c49.jpg"},{"id":59439063,"identity":"c6876313-fe78-484d-93c0-044cf66ec2ae","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-01 20:20:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20440,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerated mediation analysis.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4576893/v1/7933f87e00aad904034fdd63.jpg"},{"id":59439254,"identity":"61ebc3a9-ce42-4707-a455-ebb3555f236a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-01 20:28:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20375,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe mindfulness moderates the relation between physical exercise and self-control.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4576893/v1/d627ee65343dcf38e3a814a1.jpg"},{"id":59439253,"identity":"ba1e623b-552b-400a-9a3d-361a7fb6b149","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-01 20:28:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":22896,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe mindfulness moderates the relation between physical exercise and sleep quality.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4576893/v1/f6bfd764b452fe0eedde1354.jpg"},{"id":59439650,"identity":"c2210fd6-7b95-4b74-a7bf-97bebf9ca801","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-01 20:36:45","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":812340,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4576893/v1/e0e5da1a-920c-4885-8d3c-33657fea1e0f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and The Moderating Role of Mindfulness ","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe survey report of the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 27% of people in the world have sleep-related problems, and sleep disorders have become a major threat to public safety in the world. It is worth noting that, insomnia is highly prevalent among college students, as high as 18.5%, much higher than that among other age groups [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. At the present time, poor sleep quality is a particularly serious problem among Chinese university students, according to a survey from China, 25.7% of Chinese college students have sleep problems, which is far higher than the 7.4%-15.0% of the general population [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, many measures to improve the sleep quality of Chinese college students have been proposed in China. In this case, how the physical exercise affects the sleep quality of college students has been widely concerned by researchers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise is a physical activity with a certain intensity, frequency, and duration to improve health [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. On the one hand, studies have shown that regular physical exercise is a positive and non-drug treatment for those with poor sleep quality. Specifically, physical exercise can improve the negative psychological emotion of college students, such as depression [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e], anxiety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e] and stress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e], which could further improve their sleep quality. On the other hand, experimental studies have also shown that regular physical activity in individuals can increase melatonin secretion levels in individuals, which can enhance their sleep quality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. All the benefits of physical exercise mentioned above can help to improve college student\u0026rsquo;s sleep quality. Consideration of the above, we proposed the following hypothesis:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 1\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise may have a positive impact on sleep quality among Chinese college students. []\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough the positive relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality has been proved, the research on the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relationship is still limited. It is necessary to explore the influencing factors and potential influence mechanisms of physical exercise on sleep quality of college students. Therefore, this study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the underlying mechanisms between physical exercise and sleep quality. Considering previous studies have found that self-control plays a significant mediating role between physical exercise and health problems such as sedentary behavior [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e], and a strong link exists between sedentary behavior and sleep quality among Chinese college students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e], therefore, we introduced self-control to further examine whether it mediates the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality. In addition, previous studies have proven that mindfulness is a strong enhancer that can enhance the positive impact of physical exercise on a healthy lifestyle [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e], and mindfulness can play a moderating role between healthy lifestyle and sleep quality in college students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, the present study introduces mindfulness to explore its moderating role in the above mediating model.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Mediating Role of Self-control\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelf-control is the ability of an individual to regulate reactions to overcome impulses, which requires individuals to independently adjust their behavior and conform to social expectations and their own values by changing their own behavior, way of thinking, and level of consciousness [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. It has been verified that an individual's self-control is consistently and closely related to health behaviours, specifically, an individual's self-control is positively related to health-promoting behaviours and negatively related to health-damaging behaviours [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Poor sleep quality among college students due to sleep latency is an unhealthy behaviour that implies a failure of individual self-control [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. This means that college students succumb to other temptations before going to sleep resulting in delayed sleep and poor sleep quality. Based on the fact that self-control is a limited resource, relevant studies further show that college students conduct a lot of self-control resources during the day, resulting in the least self-control resources at night, it means there is a greater tendency for sleep procrastination in individuals with relatively depleted self-control resources, which can lead to poorer sleep quality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise has been shown to be an effective way to improve individual self-control. Specifically, individuals who participate in regular physical activity tend to have higher levels of self-control, which in turn affected the management of individuals\u0026rsquo; resources to implement goal-directed behaviors to achieve long-term goals, such as developing healthy sleep habits [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Interestingly, it has been reported that self-control can play a mediating role between physical exercise and healthy lifestyle habits in college students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e], and an experimental study has also observed that aerobic exercise may be a potentially effective intervention to enhance self-control in female college students, which could be beneficial in helping college students develop healthy habits [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. Sleep quality is an important organizing component of healthy lifestyle habits. Although there is no direct evidence that self-control can directly mediate the relationship between physical activity and sleep quality, considering the similarities between sleep quality and healthy lifestyle habits, we hypothesized that self-control may can play a mediating role in the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 2\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-control may act as a mediator in the link between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Moderating Role of Mindfulness\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMindfulness refers to being aware of the present reality or current experience in an accepting or non-judgmental way [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous research has shown that high mindfulness could promote physical and mental health such as sleep quality, positive effects, and self-control [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. In recent years, a growing number of studies have confirmed that high levels of mindfulness can play an enhancing or buffering role in self-control, and sleep quality in college students, such as Lentz and Brown [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e] suggested that the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality was intensified for college students with high mindfulness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the re-perceiving model of mindfulness, mindfulness can help people re-perceive the moment-by-moment experience with greater objectivity, get rid of automatic behavioral and emotional patterns, and facilitate adaptive responses to negative stimulation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e], which means that mindfulness can buffer the adverse effects of negative factors on an individual. Indeed, it is also true that previous studies have confirmed that mindfulness can buffer the adverse effects of negativity, such as Davis [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] showed that mindfulness can relieve college students' anxiety, depression, and other negative psychological emotions, which has been proven to be one of the important factors for promoting college students to improve their sleep quality. In other words, mindfulness buffer individuals from psychological distress, which can help people avoid sleep disorders and improve sleep quality on a psychological level. Furthermore, according to the Protection-protection model, two different protective factors will interact with each other, increasing or decreasing the outcome [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, the enhancing interaction hypothesis suggests that the effect of one protective factor (e.g., physical exercise) on its outcome (e.g., self-control) may be enhanced by another protective factor (e.g., mindfulness). Namely, individuals with high levels of mindfulness showed stronger associations between physical exercise and self-control than individuals with low levels of mindfulness. For example, a study indicated that the relationships between physical exercise and self-control were moderated by mindfulness, in that they were stronger for adolescents with higher levels of mindfulness [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. Another study indicated that the direct effect of deprivation effects on sleep quality and its indirect effect through social anxiety were both moderated by mindfulness, in that those two effects were weaker in individuals with high levels of mindfulness [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. Thus, mindfulness serves as an important protective factor that can reinforce the positive effects of physical activity. In other words, the link between physical activity and sleep quality, as well as the link between physical activity and self-control, may be moderated by mindfulness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, according to previous studies on the combination of mediation and moderation models [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e], if self-control mediated the relation between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students, and mindfulness moderated the association between sleep quality and self-control simultaneously. There would be a moderated mediation model in which self-control acted as a mediator and mindfulness acted as a moderator in the link between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. Above all, we propose the hypothesis as follows:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 3\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eMindfulness would moderate the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality as well as physical exercise and self-control, with the relationship being stronger for individuals with high levels of mindfulness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Present Study\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study tested the mechanisms underlying the relation between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students. Specifically, we examined a moderated mediation model to answer four questions: (a) whether physical exercise would have a positive impact on sleep quality; (b) whether self-control would mediate the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality; (c) whether mindfulness would moderate the link between physical exercise and sleep quality, and (d) whether mindfulness would moderate the mediating effect of self-control. Taken together, we proposed a moderated mediation model \u003cb\u003e(\u003c/b\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c/b\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Material","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 1141 students participated in our study, after removing participants who provided incomplete information and completed the survey in an unrealistically short time, there were 1028 in the final sample, which were used as the final data of this study. There were 487 (47.37%) males and 541 (52.63%) females among them. Their average age was 19.14 years old (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.85), ranging from 16 to 29 years old. Sample characteristics are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBasic demographic information about the participants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOptions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e487\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.37%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e541\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.63%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u0026ndash;20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e881\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.70%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u0026ndash;25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e136\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.23%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26\u0026ndash;29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.07%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreshman\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e399\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.79%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSophomore\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e395\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.45%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJunior\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.17%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenior\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.76%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreshman graduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.90%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSophomore graduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.10%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJunior graduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.83%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eProcedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData were collected through an online platform called Wen Juan Xing (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.wjx.cn/\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.wjx.cn/\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) from May 24th to Jun 21th, 2022, and the data were collected through convenience sampling from 5 comprehensive universities in Hubei Province, a major province in central China. Prior to the study, all participants received an electronic informed consent, which provided detailed information about the survey and its procedure. Meanwhile, participants were instructed they could terminate their participation at any time without any repercussions. Students who agreed to participate then completed the surveys by scanning the Quick Response (QR) code of the questionnaire by the school with their mobile phones or computers. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Scientific Research at the authors\u0026rsquo; institution before data collection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeasurements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePhysical Exercise\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study used the Chinese version Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), which was prepared by Chinese scholar Liang [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]. This scale measures the exercise intensity, exercise time, and exercise frequency of the participants to assess their physical activity level. The exercise frequency and intensity were scored from 1\u0026ndash;5, and the exercise time was scored from 0\u0026ndash;4. The physical activity level of the test subjects was calculated according to the formula of physical activity amount\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;exercise intensity \u0026times; (exercise time \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1) \u0026times; exercise frequency. The higher the score measured by the scale, the higher the level of physical activity of the participants. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha coefficient for the PARS-3 was 0.79.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSleep Quality\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used in this study, this scale has proved to be a very widely used scale in scientific research [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. There are 19 items included in the 7 factors of this scale, including sleep quality, sleep time, sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, hypnotic drugs, and daytime dysfunction. When calculating scores, all items are calculated according to the 4-point scoring rule of 0\u0026ndash;3. and the final score is obtained by adding the scores of 7 items. The higher the participants' scores, the worse their sleep quality. In this study, the Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha of the PSQI was 0.82.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSelf-control\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Chinese version of the Self-Control Scale was used in our study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. In this scale, there are 19 items are divided into 5 factors, including resisting temptation, impulse control, healthy habits, task performance, and entertainment temperance. Participants responded to the 19 items on a five points Likert-type scale ranging from 1(not at all) to 5(very much), with a higher total score signifying better self-control. In the current study, the items demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.82).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMindfulness\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the study, we used the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e] to measure the level of the participants\u0026rsquo; mindfulness. There are 10 items on this scale, and participants need to answer according to Likert's 5-point scoring method, and the range is 0 (never) to 4 (always). All the answers were averaged after reversing the reverse scoring items, which means that the higher the score of participants, the higher the level of mindfulness in daily life. In this study, the Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha of the CAMM was 0.81.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsidering that this study adopts the method of the questionnaire survey, there may be the risk of common method bias. Thus, we tested it by using the Harman single-factor method [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e], the results showed that there were 10 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, among which the variation explained by the first factor was 14.79%, which was less than the critical criterion of 40%. Therefore, it could be concluded that there was no significant common method bias in the data of this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data entry, management, and descriptive statistics were performed by SPSS 25.0. Firstly, descriptive analysis of the main variables and Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Secondly, the SPSS macro-PROCESS (Model 8) Version 3.3 suggested by Hayes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e] was used to test the moderated mediation model. In addition, simple slopes analyses were performed to test all the potential significant interaction effects [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePreliminary Analyses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe means, standard deviations, and correlations for all of the observed variables are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. As hypothesized, physical exercise was positively correlated with both self-control (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.32, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and sleep quality (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.26, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) (with higher PSQI scores indicating worse sleep quality, the same below). Self-control was positively correlated with both sleep quality (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.40, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and mindfulness (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.29, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Mindfulness was positively correlated with sleep quality (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.51, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics and interrelations among all of the observed variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Gender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Age\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Physical exercise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.34\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Self-control\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. Sleep quality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.26\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.40\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. Mindfulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.51\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003eNote. \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1028. \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eTesting for the Proposed Moderated Mediation Model\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, we adopted Hayes\u0026rsquo;s (2013) PROCESS macro (Model 8) to examine the proposed moderated mediation model. The main results of the moderated mediation analysis were shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. As expected, physical exercise positively predicts self-control (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.21, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and sleep quality (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e = -0.41, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), self-control positively predicts sleep quality (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e = -0.96, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Furthermore, after the inclusion of mediation variables, the mediation model test results showed that self-control significantly mediated the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality (\u003cem\u003eZ\u003c/em\u003e = -8.04, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). The above results show that physical exercise can improve the sleep quality of college students, and this relationship is mediated by self-control. Thus, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegression results for the conditional indirect effect (moderated mediation).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"10\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel 1 : Total effect model (outcome variable : sleep quality)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.41\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.72\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-7.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel 2 : Mediator variable model (outcome variable : self-control)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.55\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMindfulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise \u0026times; Mindfulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.15\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel 3 : Dependent variable model (outcome variable : sleep quality)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e97.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.80\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.42\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-control\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.96\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-7.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMindfulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.72\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-16.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical exercise \u0026times; Mindfulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.47\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConditional direct effect analysis at values of mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLLCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eULCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1SD (1.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM (2.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1SD (3.22)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConditional indirect effect analysis at values of mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot LLCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot ULCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1SD (1.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM (2.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1SD (3.22)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"10\"\u003eNote. \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1028. Unstandardized regression coefficients are reported. Bootstrap sample size\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5000. LL\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;low limit, CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;confidence interval, UL\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;upper limit. *\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. **\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01. ***\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the one hand, in order to examine Hypothesis \u003cspan refid=\"FPar3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, two interaction effects were analyzed with PROCESS macro (Model 8) by Hayes (2013). There was a significant physical exercise \u0026times; mindfulness effect on self-control (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e = -0.15, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) in the mediator variable. A significant physical exercise \u0026times; mindfulness effect on sleep quality (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.47, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) in the dependent variable model. These results indicate that the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality is moderated by mindfulness, and the relationship between physical exercise and self-control is also moderated by mindfulness. On the other hand, in order to illustrate the role of moderating variables in the overall model, simple slope analyses were conducted in our study. The high-mindfulness group was divided, and the low-mindfulness group also was divided (1 SD below the mean and 1 SD above the mean), and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e was plotted based on the results. As shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, the effect of physical exercise on self-control was stronger for students with higher mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.32, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12.13, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) than for those with lower mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.18, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). As shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, the effect of physical exercise on sleep quality was stronger for students with higher mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e = -0.78, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -6.78, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) than for those with lower mindfulness (\u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e = -0.08, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -0.82, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePhysical Exercise and Sleep Quality\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe present study demonstrates that physical exercise significantly and positively correlates with the sleep quality of college students. These findings are consistent with prior research investigating the impact of physical activity on sleep quality among college students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e]. Thus, Hypothesis \u003cspan refid=\"FPar1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e has been confirmed. However, our study further suggests that multiple factors may underlie the positive association between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students, with both physiological and psychological aspects providing explanatory frameworks for these results. From a physiological perspective, numerous studies have established a clear connection between body temperature regulation and sleep quality. For example, physical exercise triggers an elevation in central, skin, and cerebral temperatures. Consequently, under the thermoregulatory mechanism, peripheral blood vessels dilate, facilitating heat emission to the periphery and resulting in a decrease in overall body temperature. Research indicates that a reduction in body temperature by 0.5-1\u0026deg;C enhances the likelihood of falling asleep and promotes better sleep quality Moreover, post-exercise changes in body surface temperature, particularly the gradient between distal and proximal skin temperatures, may serve as a pivotal factor in initiating sleep onset for individuals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Additionally, exercise induces alterations in serotonin, epinephrine, melatonin, and cortisol levels, all of which have been linked to variations in sleep quality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. From a psychological point of view, improving college students\u0026rsquo; emotional state through exercise has been shown to be an important additional factor to improve their sleep quality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, many adverse psychological emotions such as anxiety, depression [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e] and stress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e] could affect sleep quality of college students. Further studies have shown that improving the above-mentioned psychological emotions can enhance the sleep quality of college students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, our study shows that, on the one hand, proper physical activity can help college students fall asleep faster and have a better sleep quality. Several physiological factors such as hormones, fatigue and body temperature changes may provide an explanation for this phenomenon. On the other hand, engaging in appropriate physical activity can also alleviate the psychological distress of college students, which can improve their sleep quality from a psychological perspective.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Mediating Role of Self-Control\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur study elucidates the mediating role of self-control in influencing the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality among college students. In line with previous research, self-control has been identified as a mediator in the association between physical activity and the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Our investigation extends this understanding by demonstrating that self-control significantly moderates the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students. Specifically, Chinese college students who regularly participate in physical exercise exhibit higher levels of self-control, leading to enhanced sleep quality. As illustrated in the first half of this study, according to the Self-control Resource Model, when college students conduct self-control activities during the day and consume part of their self-control resources, their self-control resources are often deficient at night. At this time, college students are not easy to resist temptation (such as using mobile phones, etc.), which can disrupt sleep patterns and reduce sleep quality. However, it has been confirmed that physical exercise could improve the self-control ability of college students\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e, that is, college students who often participate in physical exercise often have a higher level of self-control ability and more self-control resources, which makes it easier for them to resist various external temptations and improve their sleep quality. In other words, adequate sleep can improve individuals\u0026rsquo; self-control ability, when they have more self-control resources, they are more likely to resist temptation, make sleep a higher priority, and get better sleep quality. Our study further suggests that through physical exercise to improve self-control ability could improve the sleep quality of college students, which may serve as a theoretical guideline for future family education and school education in improving sleep quality of college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Moderating Role of Mindfulness\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne significant finding from our study was the potential moderation effect of mindfulness on the relationship between physical exercise and self-control. Specifically, individuals exhibiting higher levels of mindfulness appeared to exert a stronger moderating influence on the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality via self-control. This outcome suggests that mindfulness, as a positive personality trait, may enhance the self-control capacities of college students during physical exercise. As their self-control strengthens, they are better equipped to resist negative temptations, thereby potentially improving their sleep quality. This finding is consistent with the enhancing interaction hypothesis in the protective model [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e], which posits that both mindfulness and self-control serve as protective factors, with each factor enhancing the effects of the other. According to the enhanced interaction hypothesis, individuals with elevated levels of mindfulness are more likely to recognize the detrimental effects of staying up late on their health, thus demonstrating a propensity to retire to bed earlier. Serving as another protective factor, self-control furnishes individuals with the necessary executive function to resist temptation and facilitate expedited sleep onset, thereby augmenting the influence process outlined above. Furthermore, this finding also further supports the Metacognitive Model of Insomnia [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e]. which contends that an individual's ability to accurately observe internal and external experiences (e.g., mindfulness) and respond appropriately to external stimuli related to sleep significantly influence sleep quality. This suggests that college students with heightened mindfulness are more attuned to both their internal and external experiences, thereby gaining a clearer appreciation of the health benefits associated with improved sleep quality. Armed with this understanding, they are more likely to exhibit enhanced executive function and engage in activities conducive to sleep promotion, such as physical exercise and recreational pursuits, to alleviate their physical and emotional states. Consequently, individuals with elevated mindfulness levels tend to exhibit greater adaptability in addressing sleep disorders, often resorting to positive coping mechanisms like engaging in physical exercise and managing their emotional state to bolster their self-control capacities, thereby potentially enhancing their sleep quality.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, another noteworthy finding in our study is the positive impact of physical exercise on sleep quality, with mindfulness playing a regulating role in this process. Specifically, the influence of physical exercise on sleep quality was found to be more pronounced among individuals with elevated levels of mindfulness. This result further supports the re-perceiving model of mindfulness, which posits that the reevaluation of external stimuli enables individuals to attain a clearer, more objective, and positive perspective on their circumstances. Consequently, college students with heightened mindfulness levels tend to engage in re-perception of their current situations. For instance, when experiencing muscle soreness and fatigue following physical activity, individuals with high levels of mindfulness are inclined to view these sensations as indicators of muscle strengthening rather than reasons to discontinue exercise due to physical discomfort. In addition, college students with a high level of mindfulness can also have a clearer understanding of this behavior. They are aware that physical exercise is beneficial to physical health, such as improve physical fitness and sleep quality and so on [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e]. As a result, college students with elevated mindfulness levels are more likely to persist in their exercise routines as part of their commitment to cultivating a healthy lifestyle. This proactive approach to physical activity has the potential to positively impact the sleep quality of college students, contributing to their overall health and well-being.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLimitations and future directions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough our study contributes new evidence regarding the mediating role of self-control and the moderating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality in college students, it is essential to recognize several limitations. Firstly, our study utilized a cross-sectional design, which precludes establishing definitive causal relationships between variables. Secondly, the use of convenience sampling and the restriction to participants from only Hubei Province may introduce sampling biases and limit the generalizability of our findings. Additionally, our investigation focused solely on two internal factors, namely self-control and mindfulness, without considering a broader array of external influences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address the limitations of our study and further explore the impact of physical exercise on college students' sleep quality, future research could be enhanced in the following ways: Firstly, given the methodological limitations, subsequent studies should employ longitudinal follow-up research to ascertain the causal relationships between variables more accurately. Secondly, considering the limitations of our sampling methods and participant selection, future research endeavors could broaden the dataset and explore the model using random or stratified sampling techniques to examine diverse and larger cohorts. Lastly, acknowledging the constraints of our current understanding of influencing mechanisms, future research could incorporate additional variables, particularly external factors such as family environment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e] and school support [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. This broader scope of investigation would enable a more comprehensive exploration of how these external factors interact to influence college students' sleep quality.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e "},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthics Statement\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study protocol complied with the ethical guidelines of Central China Normal University, but the ethics committee of Central China Normal University considered that the study protocol was conducted by questionnaire only and no written ethical review report was required. However, the participants provided written informed consent to participate in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eData availability\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data presented in this study are available on request from the\u0026nbsp;corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eConflict of interest\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunding\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeneral Project of China Social Science Foundation (22BTY009)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eX-PL and W-YC were responsible for the overall development of this study, including the planning of sample collection, data analysis, writing, and polishing of the manuscript. Specifically, W-YC was responsible for providing ideas and analyzing the data, and X-PL was responsible for writing and revising the article. In addition, C-LX, X-PL, J-Tand W-YC were in charge of the data collection of this study, and C-LX provided financial support for this study. \u0026nbsp;All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThanks to Y M for her contributions to proofreading references and format modification. Moreover, we would like to thank NN W for English language editing service.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKoyanagi A, Stickley A. The association between sleep problems and psychotic symptoms in the general population: a global perspective. Sleep. 2015;38(12):1875\u0026ndash;85.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLiu QQ, Zhang DJ, Yang XJ, et al. Perceived stress and mobile phone addiction in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model. Comput Hum Behav. 2018;87:247\u0026ndash;53.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJiang CM, Zhang YM, Zhang YF, et al. Identification on evaluation of participating degree in physical exercise for both urban and rural residents in China. Chin Sport Sci. 2009;29(5):24\u0026ndash;31.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSlykerman RF, Thompson JM, Coomarasamy C, et al. Early adolescent physical activity, sleep and symptoms of depression at 16 years of age. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(7):1394\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePatterson MS, Gagnon LR, Vukelich A, et al. Social networks, group exercise, and anxiety among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2021;69(4):361\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHerawati K, Gayatri D. The correlation between sleep quality and levels of stress among students in Universitas Indonesia. Enferm Clin. 2019;29:357\u0026ndash;61.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChennaoui M, Arnal PJ, Sauvet F, et al. Sleep and exercise: a reciprocal issue? Sleep Med Rev. 2015;20:59\u0026ndash;72.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoat R, Williams RA, Dring KJ, et al. Associations of self-control with physical activity, physical fitness, and adiposity in adolescents. Behav Med. 2024;50(1):82\u0026ndash;90.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhang X, Gu X, Zhang T, Keller JM. The mediating roles of sleep quality and sedentary behavior between physical fitness and depression among female college freshmen. J Am Coll Health. 2022;70(5):1528\u0026ndash;35.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRuffault A, Bernier M, Juge N, et al. Mindfulness may moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and physical activity: A cross-sectional study. Mindfulness. 2016;7(2):445\u0026ndash;4527.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhang L, Zheng H, Yi M, et al. Prediction of sleep quality among university students after analyzing lifestyles, sports habits, and mental health. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:927619.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMacLean EL, Hare B, Nunn CL, et al. The evolution of self-control. P Natl Sci. 2014;111(20):E2140\u0026ndash;8.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHagger MS, Gucciardi DF, Turrell AS, et al. Self-control and health‐related behaviour: The role of implicit self‐control, trait self‐control, and lay beliefs in self‐control. Brit J Health Psych. 2019;24(4):764\u0026ndash;86.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKroese FM, Evers C, Adriaanse MA, et al. Bedtime procrastination: A self-regulation perspective on sleep insufficiency in the general population. J Health Psychol. 2016;21(5):853\u0026ndash;62.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBernecker K, Job V. Too exhausted to go to bed: Implicit theories about willpower and stress predict bedtime procrastination. Brit J Psychol. 2020;111(1):126\u0026ndash;47.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEysenck MW, Derakshan N, Santos R, et al. Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory. Emotion. 2007;7(2):336.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHagger MS, Hankonen N, Kangro EM, et al. Trait self-control, social cognition constructs, and intentions: Correlational evidence for mediation and moderation effects in diverse health behaviours. Appl Psychol-Hlth We. 2019;11(3):407\u0026ndash;37.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChen X, Zhang G, Yin X, et al. The relationship between self-efficacy and aggressive behavior in boxers: the mediating role of self-control. Front Psychol. 2019;10:212.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBrown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003;84(4):822.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBajaj B, Gupta R, Pande N. Self-esteem mediates the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. Pers Indiv Differ. 2016;94:96\u0026ndash;100.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLyddy CJ, Good DJ, Bolino MC et al. The costs of mindfulness at work: The moderating role of mindfulness in surface acting, self-control depletion, and performance outcomes. J Appl Psychol, 2021; 106(12), 1921.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLentz TA, Brown C. Mindfulness and health behaviors in college students: The moderating role of sleep. J Am Coll Health. 2019;67(6):505\u0026ndash;14.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShapiro SL, Carlson LE, Astin JA, et al. Mechanisms of mindfulness. J Clin Psychol. 2006;62(3):373\u0026ndash;86.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDavis TJ, Morris M, Drake MM. The moderation effect of mindfulness on the relationship between adult attachment and wellbeing. Pers Indiv Differ. 2016;96:115\u0026ndash;21.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoksem MA, Meijman TF, Lorist MM. Mental fatigue, motivation and action monitoring. Biol Psychol. 2006;72(2):123\u0026ndash;32.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStocker E, Englert C, Seiler R. Self-control strength and mindfulness in physical exercise performance: Does a short mindfulness induction compensate for the detrimental ego depletion effect? J Appl Sport Psycho. 2019;31(3):324\u0026ndash;39.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eXiong M, Chen J, Ye Y. How relative deprivation affects the sleep quality of Chinese college students: testing an integrated model of social anxiety and trait mindfulness. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1111845.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAndrade FC, Hoyle RH. A synthesis and meta-analysis of the relationship between trait self-control and healthier practices in physical activity, eating, and sleep domains. Pers Indiv Differ. 2023;205:112095.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGuarana CL, Ryu JW, O'Boyle Jr EH, et al. Sleep and self-control: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2021;59:101514.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLiang DQ. Stress level of college students and its relationship with physical exercise. Chin Ment Health J, 1994; 8(2).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLiu X. Reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Chin J psych. 1996;29:103.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTan SH, Guo YY. Revision of self-control scale for Chinese college students. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2008;16(5):468\u0026ndash;70.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGreco LA, Baer RA, Smith GT. Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). Psychol Assess. 2011;23(3):606.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePodsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY, et al. Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol. 2003;88(5):879.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHayes A. F.Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford; 2013.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAiken LS. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage google schola. 1991;2:103\u0026ndash;35.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBodziony V, Stetson B. Associations between sleep, physical activity, and emotional well-being in emerging young adults: Implications for college wellness program development. J Am Coll Health, 2022; 1\u0026ndash;11.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKr\u0026auml;uchi K. The thermophysiological cascade leading to sleep initiation in relation to phase of entrainment. Sleep Med Rev. 2007;11(6):439\u0026ndash;51.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGhrouz AK, Noohu MM, Manzar D. Physical activity and sleep quality in relation to mental health among college students. Sleep Breath. 2019;23:627\u0026ndash;34.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJohnston SA, Roskowski C, He Z, et al. Effects of team sports on anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and sleep quality in college students. J Am Coll Health. 2021;69(7):791\u0026ndash;7.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWills TA, Vaccaro D, McNamara G. The role of life events, family support, and competence in adolescent substance use: A test of vulnerability and protective factors. Am J Commun Psychol. 1992;20(3):349\u0026ndash;74.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOng JC, Ulmer CS, Manber R. Improving sleep with mindfulness and acceptance: a metacognitive model of insomnia. Behav Res Ther. 2012;50(11):651\u0026ndash;60.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdams SK, Dimond E, Delmonico MJ, et al. Healthy sleep leads to improved nutrition and exercise in college females. Top Clin Nutr. 2020;35(2):135\u0026ndash;43.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCounts CJ, Grubin FC, John-Henderson NA. Childhood socioeconomic status and risk in early family environments: predictors of global sleep quality in college students. Sleep health. 2018;4(3):301\u0026ndash;6.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang F, B\u0026iacute;r\u0026oacute; \u0026Eacute;. Determinants of sleep quality in college students: A literature review. Explore. 2021;17(2):170\u0026ndash;7.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Physical exercise, Sleep quality, Self-control, Mindfulness","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough a few studies have examined the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this association. This study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of mindfulness in the association between physical exercise and sleep quality.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData were collected through convenient sampling at five universities in China, a total of 1028 college students, aged 16 to 29 participated in the study. They were recruited to complete the self-report questionnaires measuring their physical exercise, self-control, sleep quality and mindfulness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study found significant associations between physical exercise, sleep quality, self-control and mindfulness of Chinese college students. Specifically, the self-control significantly mediated the relationship between physical exercise and sleep quality. In addition, moderated mediation analyses suggest that the association between physical exercise and sleep quality is moderated by mindfulness. The effect was stronger among college students with high mindfulness levels than those with low.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings suggest that the physical exercise have a significant impact on the sleep quality of college student, the influence mediated by self-control, and moderated by mindfulness.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Physical Exercise and Sleep Quality Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and The Moderating Role of Mindfulness ","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-01 20:20:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4576893/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-06-14T05:41:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-06-14T02:48:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2024-06-13T14:35:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"c837ad2c-c0ff-458a-b54e-90d8e055de51","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 1st, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-07-01T20:20:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-01 20:20:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4576893","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4576893","identity":"rs-4576893","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}