Negative emotional states, such as depression, anxiety, and stress challenge health care due to their long-term consequences for mental disorders. Accumulating evidence indicates that regular physical activity (PA) can positively influence negative emotional states. Among possible candidates, resilience and exercise tolerance in particular have the potential to partly explain the positive effects of PA on negative emotional states. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between PA and negative emotional states, and further determine the mediating effects of exercise tolerance and resilience in such a relationship. In total, 1117 Chinese college students (50.4% female, M_age=18.90, SD=1.25) completed a psychosocial battery, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Preference for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise Questionnaire (PRETIE-Q), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF). Regression analysis was used to identify the serial multiple mediation, controlling for gender, age and BMI. PA, exercise intensity-tolerance, and resilience were significantly negatively correlated with negative emotional states (Ps<.05). Further, exercise tolerance and resilience partially mediated the relationship between PA and negative emotional states. Resilience and exercise intensity-tolerance can be achieved through regularly engaging in PA, and these newly observed variables play critical roles in prevention of mental illnesses, especially college students who face various challenges. Recommended amount of PA should be incorporated into curriculum or sport clubs within a campus environment.

Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour, for instance, engendered by home confinement in Shenzhen city, has led to negative mental health consequences, especially in adolescents. Previous research suggests, in general, that sedentary behavior can increase negative emotions. However, the specific mechanism driving the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions is still relatively unclear. Social support and sleep quality might partly explain the effect of sedentary behavior on negative emotions. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions, and to investigate if social support and sleep quality mediate such a relationship. During home confinement due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak, 1179 middle and high school students in Shenzhen were invited to voluntarily complete an e-questionnaire, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data from 1065 participants were included in the analysis. We observed significant sex-related and demografic-related differences in emotional (e.g., anxiety, stress and social support) and other outcome variables (e.g., sitting duration and PSQI score). Furthermore, sedentary behavior, social support, and sleep quality were associated with negative emotions (p < .01), even after controlling for sex, age, only-child case, body mass index, and metabolic equivalent level. In addition, social support and sleep quality partially mediated the association between sedentary behavior and negative emotions. The findings of the current study suggest that social support and sleep quality partially mediate the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in middle and high school students during home confinement in Shenzhen city.

Acknowledging the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting, this study examined the effects of an acute exercise break during prolonged sitting on executive function, cortical hemodynamics, and microvascular status. In this randomized crossover study, 71 college students completed three conditions: (i) uninterrupted sitting (SIT); (ii) SIT with a 15 min moderate‐intensity cycling break (MIC); and (iii) SIT with a 15 min vigorous‐intensity cycling break (VIC). Behavioral outcomes, retinal vessel diameters (central retinal artery equivalents [CRAE], retinal vein equivalents [CRVE], arteriovenous ratio [AVR]), cortical activation, and effective connectivity were evaluated. Linear mixed models identified significant positive effects of exercise conditions on behavioral reaction time (RT), error rate, and inverse efficiency score (β = −2.62, −0.19, −3.04: ps < 0.05). MIC and VIC conditions produced pre‐to‐post‐intervention increases in CRAE and CRVE (β = 4.46, 6.34), frontal activation, and resting‐state and task‐state causal density (β = 0.37, 0.06) (ps < 0.05) compared to SIT; VIC was more beneficial for executive function and neurobiological parameters. The effect of AVR on average RT was mediated through task‐based causal density (indirect effect: −0.82). Acutely interrupting prolonged sitting improves executive function, microvascular status, and cortical activation and connectivity, with causal density mediating the microvascular‐executive function link.