Effect of short video addiction on the sleep quality of college students: chain intermediary effects of physical activity and procrastination behavior
In simple words
This study of 337 college students found that higher short video addiction scores were linked with poorer sleep quality. It also found that lower physical activity and higher procrastination were linked with both higher short video addiction scores and poorer sleep quality. The authors report mediation results suggesting physical activity and procrastination may help explain this association.
What the research says
Among 337 college students, 25.2% had sleep quality problems (PSQI score ≥ 8). Short video addiction score was positively correlated with the sleep quality score (PSQI, where a higher score means poorer sleep); procrastination score was positively associated with both short video addiction score and sleep quality score; and physical activity score was negatively associated with them. Short video addiction significantly positively predicted the PSQI score, that is, poorer sleep (β = 0.458, P < 0.001), significantly negatively predicted physical activity (β = −0.183, P < 0.001), and significantly positively predicted procrastination behavior (β = 0.246, P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, and grade, physical activity and procrastination behavior independently mediated the association between short-video addiction and sleep quality, and also acted as chain mediators, with a chain mediation effect percentage of 1.04%.
What it does not establish
The study appears to be cross-sectional and based on self-reported questionnaire measures, so it cannot establish causal relationships and may be affected by reporting bias. The abstract does not describe broader sampling limits or temporal ordering. (Inferred from the study design; check the full paper.)
Why it matters to us
This study is relevant because it links short-form video addiction scores with poorer sleep among college students, and suggests physical activity and procrastination may be part of that pattern. Because the design appears cross-sectional, it cannot show that short video use causes sleep problems or confirm the direction of the associations.
This is REELFREE NATION’s interpretation, not a finding of the study.