Zhang Qi, Kong Jianda, Fan Rao, Fu Jizhi
College of Sports Science, Qufu Normal University, Jining, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 14;25(1):1390. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22551-4.
The prevalence of sleep disorders and anxiety is on the rise among high-stress groups like graduate students. Physical activity interventions have revealed effectiveness in improving mental health, yet the effect of specialized badminton training on sleep-disordered populations remains under-researched. Besides, the effects of various forms of badminton training on sleep quality and anxiety in graduate students vary.
Our study aims to evaluate the effect of basic skill, advanced skill, and physical conditioning-focused badminton training on sleep quality, anxiety levels, and baseline physiological markers in graduate students with sleep disorders.
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted (Clinical Registry Number: TCTR20250119001, 16 January 2025), involving 160 graduate students randomly assigned to one of four groups: Badminton Basic Skills Training Group (BBSTG), Badminton Advanced Skills Training Group (BASTG), Badminton Specialized Physical Training Group (BSPTG), and a Control Group (CG), with 40 participants per group. The experimental groups trained three times weekly for one hour per session over 12 weeks, while the CG received only standard lifestyle guidance. Repeated measurements of sleep quality and anxiety levels were assessed at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), with resting heart rate and blood pressure also recorded at each time point.
(i) Baseline Measurements: Prior to the intervention, no statistically significant differences were uncovered among groups in terms of sleep quality, anxiety levels, basic physiological data (resting heart rate, blood pressure), or general characteristics (age, height, weight, BMI) (p > 0.05). Attrition rates of 8%- 11% were observed across groups, causing final group sizes of 36, 37, 35, and 36 for BBSTG, BASTG, BSPTG, and CG, respectively. This attrition had minimal impact on statistical analysis. (ii) PSQI Scores: Sleep quality enhanced significantly across all experimental groups over the 12-week period, with the BSPTG group showing the greatest improvement. At week 12, the BSPTG's PSQI score was 5.8 ± 0.8, significantly better than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 2.7, - 1.4]). The BSPTG consistently outperformed the control group at all time points, with an F-value of 10.32 at week 12 (p < 0.001), stressing the positive effect of badminton training on sleep quality. (iii) SAS Scores: At week 12, the BSPTG's SAS score was 36.3 ± 4.0, significantly lower than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 6.1, - 3.2]). Anxiety levels reduced significantly across all experimental groups, with the BSPTG demonstrating the most notable reduction, further illustrating the significant effect of physical conditioning training on anxiety relief. (iv) Resting Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Resting heart rate reduced significantly over the 12-week period, with the BSPTG achieving a final rate of 66.1 ± 4.8, significantly better than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 6.9, - 3.2]). While blood pressure displayed some reduction post-intervention, differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05), revealing limited short-term effect of badminton training on blood pressure. (v) Effect Sizes (Cohen's d): In PSQI scores, BSPTG showed a large effect (d = 0.8), BASTG a medium effect (d = 0.5), and BBSTG a small effect (d = 0.3). For SAS scores, BSPTG demonstrated a medium-to-large effect (d = 0.7), BASTG a medium effect (d = 0.5), and BBSTG a small effect (d = 0.3). In resting heart rate, BSPTG showed the most significant improvement (d = 0.6), with BASTG showing a small-to-medium effect (d = 0.4) and BBSTG showing minimal improvement. Effect sizes for blood pressure were not significant.
Specialized badminton training, in detail, physical conditioning training, can significantly improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety levels in graduate students with sleep disorders and decrease resting heart rate. As a non-pharmacological intervention, specialized badminton training has underlying applications for enhancing mental health and cardiovascular health.
Randomized Controlled Trials, TCTR20250119001, 16 January 2025.
在研究生等高压力群体中，睡眠障碍和焦虑症的患病率呈上升趋势。体育活动干预已显示出对改善心理健康有效，但专门的羽毛球训练对睡眠障碍人群的影响仍研究不足。此外，不同形式的羽毛球训练对研究生睡眠质量和焦虑的影响各不相同。
我们的研究旨在评估基础技能、高级技能和以体能训练为主的羽毛球训练对患有睡眠障碍的研究生的睡眠质量、焦虑水平和基线生理指标的影响。
进行了一项随机对照试验（RCT）（临床注册号：TCTR20250119001，2025年1月16日），160名研究生被随机分配到四组之一：羽毛球基础技能训练组（BBSTG）、羽毛球高级技能训练组（BASTG）、羽毛球专项体能训练组（BSPTG）和对照组（CG），每组40名参与者。实验组每周训练三次，每次一小时，共12周，而CG组仅接受标准生活方式指导。在基线、第4、8和12周使用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）和自评焦虑量表（SAS）重复测量睡眠质量和焦虑水平，并在每个时间点记录静息心率和血压。
（i）基线测量：干预前，各组在睡眠质量、焦虑水平、基本生理数据（静息心率、血压）或一般特征（年龄、身高、体重、BMI）方面均未发现统计学上的显著差异（p>0.05）。各组的失访率为8%-11%，导致BBSTG、BASTG、BSPTG和CG组的最终组规模分别为36、37、35和36。这种失访对统计分析影响最小。（ii）PSQI评分：在12周期间，所有实验组的睡眠质量均显著提高，其中BSPTG组改善最大。在第12周，BSPTG组的PSQI评分为5.8±0.8，显著优于CG组（p<0.001，95%CI[-2.7，-1.4]）。BSPTG组在所有时间点均始终优于对照组，第12周的F值为10.32（p<0.001），强调了羽毛球训练对睡眠质量的积极影响。（iii）SAS评分：在第12周，BSPTG组的SAS评分为36.3±4.0，显著低于CG组（p<0.001，95%CI[-6.1，-3.2]）。所有实验组的焦虑水平均显著降低，其中BSPTG组降低最为明显，进一步说明了体能训练对缓解焦虑的显著效果。（iv）静息心率和血压：在12周期间，静息心率显著降低，BSPTG组的最终心率为66.1±4.8，显著优于CG组（p<0.001，95%CI[-6.9，-3.2]）。虽然干预后血压有所下降，但差异无统计学意义（p>0.05），表明羽毛球训练对血压的短期影响有限。（v）效应量（科恩d值）：在PSQI评分中，BSPTG组显示出较大效应（d=0.8），BASTG组显示出中等效应（d=0.5），BBSTG组显示出较小效应（d=0.3）。对于SAS评分，BSPTG组显示出中等至较大效应（d=0.7），BASTG组显示出中等效应（d=0.5），BBSTG组显示出较小效应（d=0.3）。在静息心率方面，BSPTG组改善最为显著（d=0.6），BASTG组显示出小至中等效应（d=0.4），BBSTG组改善最小。血压的效应量不显著。
具体而言，专门的羽毛球训练，即以体能训练为主，可以显著改善患有睡眠障碍的研究生的睡眠质量，降低焦虑水平，并降低静息心率。作为一种非药物干预措施，专门的羽毛球训练在促进心理健康和心血管健康方面具有潜在应用价值。
随机对照试验，TCTR20250119001，2025年1月16日。
