Sleep quality and creativity in Chinese college student during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of executive function

Abstract

BackgroundCOVID-19 has impacted adolescents' interpersonal relationships, life attitudes, and mental health during the past 3 years. However, previous studies predominantly focused on negative problems, while few studies assessed the situation of teenagers from the perspective of positive psychology. Therefore, this study explores the creativity level of Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between sleep quality and creativity, and the mediating role of executive function.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted across six colleges in Heilongjiang in China, with a sample of 4,258 college students recruited via stratified cluster sampling. Data were collected through an online survey. A mediation model was constructed, and SPSS PROCESS macro was used to analyze the data.ResultsThe creativity score of Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic was 106.48 ± 13.61. Correlation analysis demonstrated that sleep quality correlated negatively with creativity (r = −0.08, P < 0.01) but positively with executive function (r=0.45, P < 0.01), whilst executive function correlated negatively with creativity (r = −0.10, P < 0.01). Moreover, the mediation model revealed that executive function partially mediated the relationship between sleep quality and creativity in college students (indirect effect = −0.017, SE = 0.004, 95% CI = [−0.025, −0.008]). Executive function accounted for 48.6% of the variance in college students' creativity.ConclusionSchool administrators should implement measures such as sleep education to enhance students' sleep quality. Concurrently, curriculum and assessment implementation should enhance executive function. Such measures can contribute to improved student creativity, thus helping students overcome the negative emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccination and Its Associated Factors among College Students in China: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

“…As the new variant spreads faster, if a case is not identified in time, the inevitable daily close contact may result in clustered epidemics and large-scale transmission [ 3 ]. In addition to the risk of infection, overwhelming evidence has shown that continued widespread disruption to the education system due to COVID-19 seriously threatened both the physical and mental health of college students [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. As a result, both the WHO and UNICEF underscored the importance of decisive action to reduce the in-school transmission of COVID-19 [ 7 ].…”

Association between Family Support, Stress, and Sleep Quality among College Students during the COVID-19 Online Learning Period

“…Although distance learning and epidemic prevention measures may provide more opportunities to improve SQ, prolonged use of electronics and reduced outdoor activity by college students may affect SQ and biorhythms [33]. During an epidemic, college students face the stress of irregular study, rest and SQ, disrupted rhythm of life, and mental health during a pandemic.…”

“…Medical students suffer from poor SQ, such as excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep deprivation, which may be closely related to the heavy academic pressure of medical students [28,30,31]. Undoubtedly, the epidemic of COVID-19 makes college students suffer from this new source of stress during OL [10,32,33]. In summary, stress has a direct impact on SQ.…”

Executive functions scale for university students: UEF-1

“…Other areas where executive functions have been identified and studied, that help university students, in addition to academic performance, are the relationship of these mental abilities with social interaction and how they comply with established norms (Hilton et al, 2022), how they express themselves adequately emotionally in the relationships they establish with their peers (Jiang et al, 2022), how they plan activities such as trips or avoid obstacles that negatively influence their lives (Bocchi et al, 2022), their quality of sleep and levels of creativity (Guo et al, 2022), health levels (Liu et al, 2022), physical activity planning (Meng, 2022), social network management and eating habits (Zhonghua and Mingde, 2022).…”