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；然而，现有研究鲜有探讨其与青少年课堂情境下所体验到的心理疲劳之间的关联。本研究旨在探讨身心健康在睡眠质量与课堂心理疲劳之间关系中的中介作用。本研究采用横断面研究设计，纳入1551名早期青少年作为研究对象。受试者完成了针对睡眠质量、身体健康、心理健康以及课堂心理疲劳的测评量表。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。本研究结果显示，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亦存在于该关联之中。更佳的睡眠质量可促进个体身心健康水平提升，进而降低课堂情境下的心理疲劳程度。此外，性别与学校类型均与早期青少年的课堂心理疲劳存在显著关联。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之间关联的认知，尤其针对中国早期青少年群体。同时，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。