Targeted exercise interventions on stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders in PhD students

doi:10.5498/wjp.v15.i12.109558

Advanced Search

BPG is committed to discovery and dissemination of knowledge

Home / Archive / Volume 15, Issue 12

This Article

Academic Content and Language Evaluation of This Article

CrossCheck and Google Search of This Article

Academic Rules and Norms of This Article

Citation of this article

Corresponding Author of This Article

Research Domain of This Article

Article-Type of This Article

Open-Access Policy of This Article

Times Cited Counts in Google of This Article

Number of Hits and Downloads for This Article

Total Article Views (179)

All Articles published online

The chart showing PDF series, HTML series, Tables (1-5) series.

Item

Count

PDF

HTML

Tables (1-5)

Sum=117

Publishing Process of This Article

The chart showing Browse series, Download series.

Item

Count

Browse

Download

Sum=78

Dec 19, 2025 (publication date) through Dec 9, 2025

Times Cited of This Article

Times Cited (0)

Journal Information of This Article

Publication Name

World Journal of Psychiatry

ISSN

2220-3206

Publisher of This Article

Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Retrospective Study

World J Psychiatry. Dec 19, 2025; 15(12): 109558
Published online Dec 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i12.109558

Targeted exercise interventions on stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders in PhD students

Fei-Long Wu, Qun Yang, Juan Jiang, Jing Yu, Yin-Chuan Jin

Fei-Long Wu, Qun Yang, Yin-Chuan Jin, Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China

Juan Jiang, Martial Arts and Dance College, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang 110034, Liaoning Province, China

Jing Yu, College of Sports Science, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, Liaoning Province, China

Co-corresponding authors: Fei-Long Wu and Qun Yang.

Author contributions: Wu FL wrote the original draft, designed the study, and acquired funding; Wu FL, Jiang J, and Yu J were responsible for developing the methodology and participated in the formal analysis and investigation; Wu FL, Yang Q, Jiang J, Yu J, and Jin YC participated in the review and editing of subsequent versions; Wu FL and Yang Q were equally responsible for providing scientific research resources, managing the research team, and revising the manuscript for important intellectual content, they contributed equally to this article, they are the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.

Supported by the Key Think Tank Research Project of the Shaanxi Federation of Social Sciences, No. 2023ZD1080.

Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Martial Arts and Dance College, Shenyang Sport University, approval No. 20241012.

Informed consent statement: All participants provided written informed consent.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.

Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Corresponding author: Fei-Long Wu, PhD, PsyD, Post Doctoral Researcher, Professor, Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, No. 169 Changle West Road, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China. 201607025@xaau.edu.cn

Received: May 15, 2025
Revised: June 17, 2025
Accepted: October 14, 2025
Published online: December 19, 2025
Processing time: 196 Days and 21 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Doctoral students often encounter mental health challenges, including stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. It is important to explore effective intervention methods to enhance their overall physical and mental well-being. It is anticipated that targeted exercise will lead to a significant reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression levels as well as an improvement in sleep quality.

AIM

To assess the feasibility and potential benefits of both intervention models in enhancing the sleep quality of doctoral students while alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of health data from 64 doctoral students across three universities in Shenyang during the 2024-2025 academic year was conducted. The participants were divided into a targeted exercise group and a Tai Chi group. The study employed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale-10, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to evaluate the impact of the two interventions on reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.

RESULTS

The primary results of the study indicated that targeted exercise interventions are significantly effective in alleviating symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression, as well as in improving sleep quality. Compared to Tai Chi interventions, this approach demonstrates greater durability of effects. Although the efficacy of targeted interventions may gradually diminish over time, the overall research findings suggest that targeted exercise remains a more effective therapeutic approach than Tai Chi interventions.

CONCLUSION

The impact of targeted exercise on stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders was greater than that of Tai Chi, confirming the potential benefits for psychological health intervention for doctoral students.

Keywords: Targeted exercise; Tai Chi; Pressure; Anxiety; Depression; Sleep disorders

Core Tip: This study compared the effectiveness of targeted exercise and Tai Chi in alleviating stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders among doctoral students. While Tai Chi positively impacted mental health, targeted exercise was a more effective and sustainable intervention. This study addressed a gap in previous research that predominantly focused on the effects of a single exercise. Our study provided a new perspective and preliminary evidence for future mental health intervention strategies. Consequently, this study proposed more effective sports intervention strategies, thereby enriching the theoretical foundation of mental health interventions