Background: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise intensity and exercise frequency on anxiety, depression and sleep quality in college students. Methods: All participants came from a university in northeastern China. All participants were tested for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and were diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The research subjects were divided into six groups, namely the low-intensity and low-frequency group (group 1), low-intensity and moderate-frequency group (group 2), low-intensity and high-frequency group (group 3), high-intensity and low-frequency group (group 4), and high-intensity and moderate-frequency group (group 5) and high-intensity and high-frequency group (group 6). The duration of each physical exercise for each group was 1 h. Participants’ exercise intensity was monitored using Polar H10 HR sensors and the Borg RPE scale. The experiment was carried out for a total of 6 weeks. The researchers conducted pre- and post-test scores on the subjects’ anxiety, depression and sleep quality through questionnaires. Results: Exercise intensity improved anxiety and decreased symptoms of depression better than exercise frequency; sleep quality was more closely related to exercise intensity. Conclusion: Exercise intensity and exercise frequency have different effects on anxiety, depression and sleep quality improvement, indicating that exercise intensity and exercise frequency have different effects on anxiety, depression and sleep quality of college students.

This study evaluated and compared the effects of virtual training and physical exercise on the executive function of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After screening, the final analysis of this study was conducted on three groups: a virtual training group (n = 34), a physical exercise group (n = 33), and a control group (n = 33). The experiment was conducted for nine weeks, of which the virtual training group and physical exercise group were conducted three times a week for one hour each time during the first six weeks, while the control group did not conduct virtual training nor physical exercise. During the last three weeks (week 6 to week 9), virtual training and physical exercise were not performed on all three groups. The three main components of executive function (working memory, inhibition, flexibility) of children with ASD were measured before the intervention, after the intervention (week 1 to week 6) and in the last three weeks (week 6 to week 9). The final results are that firstly, the executive function of the virtual training and physical exercise groups were simultaneously improved after the intervention. Secondly, after the intervention stopped, the executive function of the virtual training and physical exercise groups showed a downward trend. Therefore, the study concludes that the application of virtual training and physical exercise can effectively enhance the executive function of children with ASD.

A self-powered biosensor for monitoring the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) during exercise has been developed for intelligently assisting training system. It has been presented to create poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/Tetrapod-shaped ZnO (T-ZnO)/enzyme-modified nanocomposite film through an efficient and cost-effective fabrication process. This sensor can be readily attached to the skin surface of the tester. Due to the piezoelectric surface coupling effect, this biosensor can monitor/sense and analyze physical information in real-time under the non-invasive condition and work independently without any battery. By actively outputting piezoelectric signals, it can quickly and sensitively detect body movements (changes of joint angle, frequency relative humidity during exercise) and physiological information (changes of lactate concentration in sweat). A practical application has been demonstrated by an excellent professional speed skater (male). The purpose of this study is to increase the efficiency of MLSS evaluation, promote the development of piezoelectric surface coupling effect and motion monitoring application, develop an intelligently assisting training system, which has opened up a new direction for human motion monitoring.

Self-powered piezoelectric-biosensing textiles for the physiological monitoring and time-motion analysis of individual sports have been developed. The material system is composed of tetrapod-shaped ZnO nanowires on common textiles. The mechanism is based on the coupling of enzymatic reaction (LOx and lactate) and piezoelectric effect. After conformably attaching the device to the athlete, the device can monitor in real-time the moving speed, frequency, joint angle, and sweat lactate concentration of the athlete. The whole monitoring/analysis process is battery-free. The motor skills and physiological state of two athletes are investigated using the textiles, and different lactate threshold times and maximum lactate release capacities have been obtained. This technique can help them develop distinct training programs. This research is a new direction for the scientific monitoring of kinematics and may also stimulate the development of self-powered wearable sports-related systems.

Nowadays, the applications of the triboelectric nanogenerator in sensing and monitoring sports experience a blooming prosperity. Here, we report a flexible and lightweight triboelectric nanogenerator (FL-TENG) made of hydrogel electrodes, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), PDMS, and polyurethane (PU). Based on the triboelectric effect, the FL-TENG can work as a self-powered sensor attaching to taekwondo protective gear, which can be used to monitor athletes’ competition performance and improve the fairness of the competition. In addition, the FL-TENG can drive micro-wireless devices for wireless transmitting sports data during the competition in real time. This kind of sustainable green self-powered sensor provides a new path for the field of sports competition monitoring.

Background: Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders and is often accompanied by sleep disturbances. Studies have focused on the ameliorative effect of sports games on anxiety and its subsidiary issues. However, the effect on the improvement of such mental and physical disorders between individual sports and team group sports is not yet clear, especially regarding their effects on anxiety and sleep quality improvement. Therefore, this paper explores the improvement effects of individual sports and team sports participation on anxiety symptoms and sleep quality amelioration. Objective: To explore the effects of individual and team group sports participation on ameliorating college students’ anxiety symptoms and sleep quality. Methods: A total of 197 college students were sampled in the study. The self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were used to assess the severity of anxiety symptoms and level of sleep quality. Participants were randomly divided into three groups: team sports, individual sports, and control groups. The distribution ratio of these groups was 1:1:1. Results: Generally, compared with the control group, the subjects in the team sports group and individual sports group had greater improvements in anxiety amelioration and sleep quality improvements. Specifically, the improvement effect between individual and team sports groups was different. To assess the resulting differences, improvements in anxiety symptoms and sleep quality were compared between the team sports group and the individual sports group with reference to the mean change in the control group. In the corrected model, the odds advantage ratio (OR) of anxiety symptom improvement after individual sports was 3.18 (CI 2.87–11.21), and the advantage OR of anxiety symptom improvement after team sports was 4.99 (CI 4.06–14.87). The advantage OR of sleep quality improvement after individual sports was 7.32 (CI 5.53–18.22), and the advantage OR of anxiety symptom improvement after team sports was 7.98 (CI 6.69–19.98). Conclusion: After 6 weeks of intervention, it was found that both team sports and individual sports improved anxiety symptoms and sleep quality with different effects. Team sports were better at improving anxiety, while individual sports and team sports shared the same improvement effect with no significant difference in sleep quality improvement.