Active Today, Replenished Tomorrow? How Daily Physical Activity Diminishes Next‐Morning Depletion

Background Physical activity is a salient input to psychological health and well‐being. Recent applied psychology research suggests that physical activity of a greater intensity is particularly important for recovery from work‐related effort expenditure. However, whether and how moderate‐to‐vigorous levels of physical activity influence recovery outside of working populations remains unclear. Further, the process through which this relationship unfolds on a day‐to‐day basis has yet to be mapped. Method We conducted a 10‐day daily diary study in a sample of 66 college students that incorporated objective measurements of physical activity and sleep to address these research gaps. Results We found that higher levels of daily moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity were associated with leisure‐time psychological detachment from daily school demands, which in turn related to longer duration sleep that diminished next‐morning depletion. Discussion We discuss how our findings advance a dynamic perspective of the intersection of physical activity and recovery from day‐to‐day that can be applied outside of working populations.