Basketball participation improves sleep quality through psychological flexibility in adolescents

This study investigated the relationship between basketball participation and sleep quality among adolescents, focusing on the mediating role of psychological flexibility. The research aimed to clarify how participation in structured team sports contributes to daytime and nighttime aspects of sleep health, including daytime distress and insomnia symptoms. A total of 818 students (54.03% male) from Grades 5 to 9 participated in the study. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing basketball participation, psychological flexibility, daytime distress, and insomnia symptoms. Reliability and validity analyses confirmed satisfactory psychometric properties for all scales. Multiple regression and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the direct and indirect associations, and a bias-corrected bootstrapping approach (5,000 resamples) was used to test mediation effects. Basketball participation showed significant negative effects on both daytime distress (β = − 0.191, 95% CI [–0.265, − 0.113]) and insomnia symptoms (β = − 0.214, 95% CI [–0.173, − 0.095]). Psychological flexibility exerted significant negative effects on daytime distress (β = − 0.398) and insomnia symptoms (β = − 0.402), and it mediated the relationships between basketball participation and both outcomes. The indirect effects were significant for daytime distress (β = − 0.129, 95% CI [–0.170, − 0.095]) and insomnia symptoms (β = − 0.130, 95% CI [–0.292, − 0.134]), accounting for 40.31% and 37.79% of the total effects, respectively. Basketball participation was associated with lower levels of daytime distress and insomnia symptoms, both directly and indirectly through enhanced psychological flexibility. The results underscore the role of sport-based engagement in promoting psychological adaptability and sleep health among adolescents. Integrating physical activity with interventions targeting psychological flexibility may represent an effective strategy for improving emotional regulation and sleep quality in youth.