SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026
Exercise interventions to improve sleep quality in university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
Background and objective: Poor sleep quality is common among university students and is associated with adverse academic, psychological, and cardiometabolic outcomes. Exercise may provide a scalable, low-cost, non-pharmacological approach to improving sleep. Although previous reviews have examined physical activity and sleep in university students, evidence specifically derived from randomized controlled trials of structured exercise interventions using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) has not been adequately synthesized. This systematic review and meta-analysis therefore evaluated the effects of structured exercise interventions on the PSQI global score and PSQI-derived component scores in university students. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses from inception to April 30, 2026. Randomized controlled trials comparing structured exercise interventions with non-exercise controls in university students and reporting PSQI-based outcomes were eligible. The primary outcome was the PSQI global score. Secondary outcomes were the PSQI component scores for sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, and sleep disturbances. Mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using DerSimonian-Laird random-effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed using I Results: Seven randomized controlled trials involving 701 participants contributed eight exercise-vs.-control comparisons. Six trials contributing seven comparisons and 602 participants were included in the primary meta-analysis of the PSQI global score. Exercise reduced the PSQI global score compared with non-exercise controls (MD = -2.43, 95% CI -3.72 to -1.14; Conclusion: Structured exercise interventions may improve overall sleep quality in university students, with the most consistent benefits observed for the PSQI sleep-duration and habitual sleep-efficiency component scores. However, substantial heterogeneity, a prediction interval that included no effect, and very low to low certainty of evidence limit confidence in the pooled findings. Larger, rigorously designed randomized trials using standardized intervention protocols and both subjective and objective sleep measures are needed before definitive practice recommendations can be made. Systematic review registration: www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier: CRD420261384510.
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