A study of the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and residents’ quality of life: Chain mediation of sleep quality and depression

Residents’ quality of life (QOL) is an important indicator of their well-being, both physically and mentally, along with their social relations. Improving their QOL is an important developmental goal for governments around the world. This study aims to provide a new perspective on the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and residents’ QOL. It also seeks to provide theoretical references for improving residents’ QOL through two mediating variables, sleep quality and depressed mood, and the chain mediation model formed between them. This study conducted a questionnaire survey on 538 residents based on the Physical Activity Rating Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Depression Self-Rating Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Survival Measurement Scale in Chinese, with the actual situation taken into account in the design of the questionnaire. AMOS software was employed to construct a chain mediation model between leisure-time physical activity and residents’ QOL, with Bootstrapping used to test the mediation effect. Leisure-time physical activity had a significant effect on residents’ QOL; both sleep quality and depression showed significant individual mediation effects, as well as chain mediation effects, between leisure-time physical activity and residents’ QOL. Depression and sleep quality play a significant role in better residents’ QOL of life through leisure-time physical activity. Increased individual knowledge of leisure-time physical activity and improved leisure-time physical activity behaviors can effectively alleviate depression, improve sleep quality, and thus promote overall QOL.