Sleep quality and mental fatigue in class in adolescents: the mediating role of physical and mental health

Sleep quality among adolescents, along with their physical and mental health, has been the subject of extensive research; however, there is a paucity of studies exploring its relationship with the mental fatigue experienced by adolescents in classroom settings. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of physical and mental health in the relationship between sleep quality and mental fatigue. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1,551 early adolescents. Participants completed measures assessing sleep quality, physical health, mental health, and mental fatigue in class. Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to investigate these relationships. This study found that mental health mediates the association between sleep quality and mental fatigue in the classroom, and the chain of physical health to mental health mediates this association as well. Better sleep quality contributes to better health in body and mind, resulting in decrease mental fatigue in class. Meanwhile, both gender and type of school are associated with mental fatigue in class among early adolescents. The study contributes to understanding of the relationship between sleep quality, health, and mental fatigue in the classroom, particularly in the context of Chinese early adolescents. It emphasizes the significance of sleep management and health promotion in alleviating mental fatigue during class.

青少年睡眠质量及其身心健康状况已成为学界广泛研究的议题，但目前鲜有研究探讨其与青少年课堂心理疲劳之间的关联。本研究旨在考察身心健康在睡眠质量与课堂心理疲劳关系中的中介作用。本研究采用横断面研究设计，纳入1551名青春早期青少年作为研究对象。参与者完成了针对睡眠质量、身心健康状况以及课堂心理疲劳的测评量表。本研究采用皮尔逊相关分析与结构方程模型对上述关联进行检验。研究结果显示，心理健康在睡眠质量与课堂心理疲劳之间发挥中介作用，同时身体健康至心理健康的链式中介路径同样存在。更佳的睡眠质量可改善个体身心健康水平，进而缓解课堂中的心理疲劳。此外，青春早期青少年的课堂心理疲劳还与性别以及学校类型存在关联。本研究有助于深化对课堂场景下睡眠质量、健康状况与心理疲劳三者间关联的认知，尤其针对中国青春早期青少年群体。本研究强调了通过睡眠管理与健康促进来缓解课堂心理疲劳的重要意义。