Background: The wellbeing of college students is an important concern for public health, and may have associations with insufficient physical activity and psychological distress. This study aimed to identify the latent classes of wellbeing based on the PERMA (i.e., positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments) wellbeing framework, and to explore their associations with levels of physical activity and psychological distress. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted. A latent profile analysis was performed to characterize the different classes of wellbeing of nursing college students. Results: A group of 1741 nursing college students in China completed the study. Three wellbeing classes were identified in the final model (i.e., low-level wellbeing, moderate-level wellbeing, and high-level wellbeing). Significant differences were found between the three classes in terms of gender (p = 0.002) and year of study (p = 0.038). Low levels of physical activity participation were significantly associated with lower odds of being in the high-level wellbeing class compared with the moderate-level wellbeing class (OR = 1.398, 95%CI [1.023, 1.910], p = 0.035). Lower levels of psychological distress were also associated with greater wellbeing among the three wellbeing classes (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Effective strategies are needed to increase college students’ physical activity participation and decrease the severity of psychological distress to improve their health and wellbeing in China.

A substantial body of evidence indicates that neurological, psychological, and behavioral health issues are profoundly linked to interoceptive sensitivity. The present study aimed to identify the effects of interoceptive sensitivity on the relationship between physical activity and symptoms of depression in Chinese college students. This study employed a cross-sectional design using convenience sampling. An online self-reported survey was distributed to college students in China. The participants’ interoceptive sensitivity, physical activity levels, and depressive symptoms were measured using the MAIA-2, IPAQ-SF, and PHQ-9, respectively. The mediating effect was tested via regression analysis and a parallel mediation model, with bootstrap confidence intervals for indirect effects. The results showed a significant negative correlation between physical activity and depression. A significant positive correlation was observed between physical activity and seven dimensions of interoceptive sensitivity. Conversely, interoceptive sensitivity exhibited a negative correlation with depression. The bootstrap mediation analysis showed that the “not distracting” and “trusting” dimensions of interoceptive sensitivity had significant indirect effects on the relationship between physical activity and depression, suggesting that physical activity might reduce depressive symptoms via these two interoceptive sensitivity dimensions. The findings suggest that interoceptive sensitivity should be integrated into therapeutic interventions, such as physical activity interventions, in the treatment of mental illnesses, particularly depression. Increasing physical activity levels, with a specific focus on enhancing interoceptive modulation, appears to be a promising approach for addressing depression in college students.

Background: Psychological distress is an important mental health problem in college students. Insomnia may be a major factor contributing to psychological distress. This study aimed to explore the indirect relationship between insomnia and psychological distress through the five PERMA wellbeing variables (i.e., positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning in life, and achievement) among nursing college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in China using an online survey design. Mediation analyses were examined using the PROCESS macro version 4.1 for SPSS 27.0. A total of 1741 nursing college students completed the online survey. Results: Insomnia was positively associated with psychological distress (p < 0.01, r = 0.673), while negative associations were detected between PERMA wellbeing variables and insomnia (p < 0.01, r range = −0.176 and −0.272), as well as psychological distress (p < 0.01, r range = −0.196 and −0.386). The association between insomnia and psychological distress was partially mediated by the participants’ positive emotions (indirect effect = 0.137, SE = 0.024, 95% CI boot = [0.094, 0.188]), engagement (indirect effect = −0.033, SE = 0.010, 95% CI boot = [−0.054, −0.017]), and meaning in life (indirect effect = 0.027, SE = 0.014, 95% CI boot = [0.001, 0.055]) but not their relationships or achievement of the PERMA wellbeing variables. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the PERMA wellbeing variables, especially positive emotions, engagement, and meaning in life, could be potential mechanisms by which insomnia is associated with psychological distress. The mediating roles of PERMA wellbeing variables between insomnia and psychological distress could be incorporated into the health management of university administrations to promote the health and wellbeing of nursing college students.

Background and purpose: Physical inactivity and prolonged sitting have associations with adverse health. University office workers are at a high risk of psychological and pain issues. This study aimed to explore the differences in sitting time, levels of physical activity participation, stress, depression, anxiety, and pain among university office workers in China and Australia. Methods: Online surveys were distributed to university office workers over 55 years at two universities in China and Australia, respectively. Results: A total of 185 participants completed the online survey (119 in China and 66 in Australia). Significant differences were found in sitting time during workdays between the two countries (p < 0.05) with a longer sitting time in the Australian respondents (7.5 h/day) than those in China (4.6 h/day). Additionally, there were also significant differences in terms of levels of depression and pain symptoms within the two countries (p < 0.05). The Australian respondents reported high levels of depression and pain (M = 7.38, SD = 5.86 and M = 3.65, SD = 2.21, respectively) than those in China (M = 5.71, SD = 4.87 and M = 1.89, SD = 1.89, respectively). The gender, education level, and sitting time of participants were found to be associated with pain scores (p < 0.05). A significant association between marital status and pain scores was found among the Australian respondents (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Future studies with a larger population are needed to validate the results and to further explore the association between physical activity participation and psychological wellbeing among university office workers.