Specialized badminton training significantly improved sleep quality and reduced anxiety levels in graduate students with sleep disorders.
The Badminton Specialized Physical Training Group (BSPTG) showed the greatest enhancement in sleep quality, achieving a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of 5.8 ± 0.8 at week 12, significantly better than the Control Group.
Anxiety levels decreased significantly in all experimental groups, with the BSPTG demonstrating a final Self-Rating Anxiety Scale score of 36.3 ± 4.0 at week 12, again significantly lower than the Control Group.
Resting heart rate decreased significantly in the BSPTG over the 12-week period, reaching a final rate of 66.1 ± 4.8, which was notably better than the Control Group.
While blood pressure showed some reduction post-intervention, the changes were not statistically significant.
Effect sizes indicated a large effect for sleep quality improvement in the BSPTG (d = 0.8) and a medium-to-large effect for anxiety reduction (d = 0.7).
Simplified
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of sleep disorders and anxiety is on the rise among high-stress groups like graduate students. Physical activity interventions have revealed effectiveness in improving mental health, yet the effect of specialized badminton training on sleep-disordered populations remains under-researched. Besides, the effects of various forms of badminton training on sleep quality and anxiety in graduate students vary.
OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to evaluate the effect of basic skill, advanced skill, and physical conditioning-focused badminton training on sleep quality, anxiety levels, and baseline physiological markers in graduate students with sleep disorders.
METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted (Clinical Registry Number: TCTR20250119001, 16 January 2025), involving 160 graduate students randomly assigned to one of four groups: Badminton Basic Skills Training Group (BBSTG), Badminton Advanced Skills Training Group (BASTG), Badminton Specialized Physical Training Group (BSPTG), and a Control Group (CG), with 40 participants per group. The experimental groups trained three times weekly for one hour per session over 12 weeks, while the CG received only standard lifestyle guidance. Repeated measurements of sleep quality and anxiety levels were assessed at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index () and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (), with resting heart rate and blood pressure also recorded at each time point.
RESULTS: (i) Baseline Measurements: Prior to the intervention, no statistically significant differences were uncovered among groups in terms of sleep quality, anxiety levels, basic physiological data (resting heart rate, blood pressure), or general characteristics (age, height, weight, BMI) (p > 0.05). Attrition rates of 8%- 11% were observed across groups, causing final group sizes of 36, 37, 35, and 36 for BBSTG, BASTG, BSPTG, and CG, respectively. This attrition had minimal impact on statistical analysis. (ii) PSQI Scores: Sleep quality enhanced significantly across all experimental groups over the 12-week period, with the BSPTG group showing the greatest improvement. At week 12, the BSPTG's PSQI score was 5.8 ± 0.8, significantly better than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 2.7, - 1.4]). The BSPTG consistently outperformed the control group at all time points, with an F-value of 10.32 at week 12 (p < 0.001), stressing the positive effect of badminton training on sleep quality. (iii) SAS Scores: At week 12, the BSPTG's SAS score was 36.3 ± 4.0, significantly lower than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 6.1, - 3.2]). Anxiety levels reduced significantly across all experimental groups, with the BSPTG demonstrating the most notable reduction, further illustrating the significant effect of physical conditioning training on anxiety relief. (iv) Resting Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Resting heart rate reduced significantly over the 12-week period, with the BSPTG achieving a final rate of 66.1 ± 4.8, significantly better than that of the CG (p < 0.001, 95% CI [- 6.9, - 3.2]). While blood pressure displayed some reduction post-intervention, differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05), revealing limited short-term effect of badminton training on blood pressure. (v) Effect Sizes (Cohen's d): In PSQI scores, BSPTG showed a large effect (d = 0.8), BASTG a medium effect (d = 0.5), and BBSTG a small effect (d = 0.3). For SAS scores, BSPTG demonstrated a medium-to-large effect (d = 0.7), BASTG a medium effect (d = 0.5), and BBSTG a small effect (d = 0.3). In resting heart rate, BSPTG showed the most significant improvement (d = 0.6), with BASTG showing a small-to-medium effect (d = 0.4) and BBSTG showing minimal improvement. Effect sizes for blood pressure were not significant.
CONCLUSION: Specialized badminton training, in detail, physical conditioning training, can significantly improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety levels in graduate students with sleep disorders and decrease resting heart rate. As a non-pharmacological intervention, specialized badminton training has underlying applications for enhancing mental health and cardiovascular health.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Randomized Controlled Trials, TCTR20250119001, 16 January 2025.
Key numbers
5.8
Score Improvement
Final score for at week 12.
36.3
Score Reduction
Final score for at week 12.
66.1
Resting Heart Rate
Final resting heart rate for at week 12.
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Declarations. Ethic approval and consent to participate: The research protocol was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Qufu Normal University (approval number: 2023131). All participants agreed to participate and signed an informed consent form. Consent for publication: The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are included in the supplementary files attached to this manuscript. These supplementary files will be provided upon submission, ensuring that all data supporting our research findings are accessible to readers for further verification and analysis. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
