The impact of physical activity on executive function in college students: the chain mediating role of anxiety and sleep quality

Abstract

Background and objectives Executive function (EF) serves as a critical regulatory hub for goal-directed behavior, yet its operational integrity is increasingly threatened by the sedentary lifestyles and psychological stressors prevalent in higher education. While the cognitive benefits of exercise are documented, the specific pathways through which it navigates psychological and physiological barriers remain underexplored. This study constructs a chain mediation model to elucidate how physical activity (PA) optimizes EF by sequentially modulating anxiety and sleep quality (SQ) among university students. Methods Data collection was conducted in December 2025, involving a multi-stage cluster convenience sample of 2,033 students across six Chinese provinces. Participants (mean age 19.0 ± 1.1) completed a battery of validated instruments, including the Single-Item Measure for PA, the GAD-2 for anxiety, the Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale, and the Adolescent Executive Function Scale. Structural relationships were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 6) while controlling for demographic covariates such as gender, age, and socioeconomic background. Results Path analysis confirmed that PA positively predicts EF proficiency, with the direct effect accounting for 49.53% of the total variance. Beyond this direct link, the relationship is substantiated by three distinct mediating trajectories: (1) a psychological pathway via anxiety reduction (31.78%), (2) a physiological pathway via enhanced sleep quality (14.02%), (3) a sequential chain pathway wherein PA alleviates anxiety, which subsequently optimizes sleep, leading to superior executive performance (4.67%). All mediating effects reached statistical significance as evidenced by bootstrap confidence intervals. Conclusion These findings transition the understanding of physical intervention from a unilinear correlation to a multi-systemic synergistic response. Exercise functions not only as a cognitive catalyst but also as a vital buffer that prevents the maladaptive depletion of neural resources by stabilizing emotional oscillations and facilitating physiological restoration. The results underscore the necessity for higher education institutions to integrate physical activity, psychological counseling, and sleep hygiene management into a cohesive framework for cognitive health.