Physical activity and sleep quality among college students: the sequential indirect associations of negative attentional bias and bedtime procrastination

Sleep quality is fundamental to college students’ physical and psychological health and academic functioning. Amid increasing digitalization and stress, sleep problems remain prevalent among college students. Previous research has shown that physical activity, cognitive processing styles, and behavioral regulation patterns are associated with sleep outcomes, but these variables have often been examined separately, with limited attention to their integrated association structure. Based on cross-sectional survey data, this study used latent-variable structural equation modeling to examine the sequential indirect association pattern among physical activity, negative attentional bias, bedtime procrastination, and sleep quality. Using cluster sampling, data were collected from 921 college students from four universities in East China (439 males, 482 females; M_age = 20.34, SD = 1.59). Measures included the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Negative Attentional Bias Scale, Bedtime Procrastination Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Structural equation modeling and bootstrap methods examined indirect associations. Results indicated that physical activity was significantly associated with lower PSQI scores, indicating better sleep quality (B_total = −0.072, β _total = −0.440, p < 0.001). Negative attentional bias and bedtime procrastination both showed significant partial indirect associations. The simple indirect associations through negative attentional bias and bedtime procrastination accounted for 20.8 and 15.3% of the total association, respectively. The sequential indirect association “physical activity → negative attentional bias → bedtime procrastination → sleep quality” was also significant, although its proportion was relatively small (4.2%). Overall, the total indirect association accounted for 40.3% of the total association. Multi-group structural analysis indicated that the association structure was broadly comparable across gender groups, although associations involving bedtime procrastination appeared stronger among female students. By integrating cognitive processing and behavioral regulation perspectives, this study provides a more integrative view of the association between physical activity and sleep quality. The findings suggest that college students’ sleep problems may be embedded within a broader system of health behaviors and psychological processes. Given the cross-sectional design, future longitudinal or experimental studies should examine the dynamic associations among these variables.