Depressive SymptomsNCT07738809
Effects of Exercise Intervention on Sleep Quality and Emotional Problems in College Students With Depressive Symptoms
A study testing Archery Exercise in people with Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbance, run by Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, China at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
This exploratory randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of exercise on sleep quality, emotional problems, executive function, and neurophysiological characteristics in college students with depressive symptoms. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 23 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Depressive Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance
- What is being tested?
- Archery Exercise
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 80 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 1 Aug 2026to 30 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 23 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- • Aged 18-23 years.
- Right-handed.
- Non-physical education major.
- No history of psychiatric disorders and no current or previous use of psychotropic medications, hypnotics, or other medications affecting the central nervous system.
- No history of traumatic brain injury or chronic physical diseases.
- No contraindications to physical exercise.
- Participants with a Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score >13 will be classified as having depressive symptoms, whereas participants with a BDI-II score ≤13 will be classified as having no depressive symptoms.
Who cannot join
- Vigorous physical exercise, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake, or other stimulating behaviors within 24 hours before testing.
- Withdrawal from the study before completion of EEG recording or behavioral task assessments.
- Participants will be excluded from the final analysis if they fail to complete the required questionnaires or if the collected data do not meet predefined quality control criteria.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
China1 site
Shanghai University of Sport
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality
Yongguo Zhu, Professor, +86 13811265116, zhuyongguo@cupes.edu.cn
About this study
Official title: Effects of Exercise Intervention on Sleep Quality, Emotional Problems, and Neuroelectrophysiological Mechanisms in College Students With Depressive Symptoms
This exploratory randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of exercise on sleep quality, emotional problems, executive function, and neurophysiological characteristics in college students with depressive symptoms. The study consists of two sequential phases: an acute exercise experiment followed by an 8-week exercise intervention. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an exercise intervention group or a control group. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state electroencephalography (EEG), brain functional connectivity, and event-related potentials (ERP) will be assessed to evaluate behavioral and neurophysiological changes before and after exercise. The study will further examine whether the immediate response to acute exercise predicts the effectiveness of the long-term intervention.
Read the detailed description
Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among college students and are frequently accompanied by poor sleep quality, emotional disturbances, impaired executive function, and altered brain activity. Although physical exercise has been recognized as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for improving mental health, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these benefits remain unclear.
This study adopts an exploratory randomized controlled design consisting of two consecutive phases. In Phase I, participants will complete a single session of low-to-moderate intensity exercise to investigate immediate changes in emotional state, executive function, resting-state EEG, brain functional connectivity, and event-related potentials (ERP). In Phase II, the same participants will continue to participate in an 8-week exercise intervention to examine the effects of regular exercise on sleep quality, depressive symptoms, emotional problems, executive function, and neurophysiological characteristics.
Behavioral assessments, standardized psychological questionnaires, resting-state EEG, brain functional connectivity analysis, and ERP recordings will be performed before and after intervention. The study will also investigate whether the immediate response to acute exercise is associated with subsequent improvements following long-term exercise intervention, providing evidence for individualized exercise prescriptions and neurophysiological mechanisms of exercise in college students with depressive symptoms.
- Conditions
- Depressive Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance
- Being tested
- Archery Exercise, Non-exercise Control
- Keywords
- Exercise, College Students, Depressive Symptoms, Sleep Quality, Electroencephalography, Brain Functional Connectivity, Event-Related Potentials, Executive Function, Randomized Controlled Trial
- Medical subject headings
- Depression, Parasomnias, Motor Activity, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Archery ExerciseBehavioural
Participants perform a standardized archery exercise program consisting of an acute exercise session followed by an 8-week supervised training program. The acute session includes a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of archery exercise, and a 5-minute cool-down. The long-term intervention is conducted three times per week for 8 weeks at moderate exercise intensity.
Non-exercise ControlBehavioural
Participants continue their usual daily activities without participating in the archery exercise intervention.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Archery Exercise Group | Experimental | Participants assigned to this group will first complete one supervised session of low-to-moderate intensity archery exercise and will subsequently participate in an 8-week regular archery exercise program. The acute exercise session consists of a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of archery exercise, and a 5-minute cool-down. The 8-week intervention will be conducted three times per week, with at least 48 hours between sessions. Exercise intensity will be maintained at 50%-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate and monitored using heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state EEG, and task-related ERP assessments will be completed before and after the acute session and before and after the 8-week intervention. Receives: Behavioral: Archery Exercise |
| Control Group | Active comparator | Participants assigned to this group will complete an equal-duration seated rest or non-exercise control activity during the acute experiment. During the subsequent 8-week period, participants will maintain their usual lifestyle and attend the laboratory three times per week at the same scheduled times as the exercise group to complete 30 minutes of seated rest or another non-exercise control activity. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state EEG, and task-related ERP assessments will be completed at the same assessment time points as those in the archery exercise group. Receives: Behavioral: Non-exercise Control |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Depressive symptoms measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)
Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Changes in depressive symptom severity following acute and long-term archery exercise interventions will be evaluated.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Sleep quality measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Sleep quality will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Changes in sleep quality after acute and long-term archery exercise interventions will be evaluated.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Resting-state EEG functional connectivity
Resting-state EEG functional connectivity will be analyzed using phase synchronization metrics to evaluate neural changes associated with archery exercise interventions.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Jul 2026
- Study start1 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionNov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Depressive SymptomsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, China
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Yongguo Zhu, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, China
- Investigators
- Yongguo Zhu, Professor, Principal investigator, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07738809
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2026A137
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 28 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 31 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 31 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effects of Exercise Intervention on Sleep Quality, Emotional Problems, and Neuroelectrophysiological Mechanisms in College Students With Depressive Symptoms
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07738809
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2026A137
- Conditions
- Depressive Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance
- Keywords
- Exercise, College Students, Depressive Symptoms, Sleep Quality, Electroencephalography, Brain Functional Connectivity, Event-Related Potentials, Executive Function
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, ChinaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 31 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This exploratory randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of exercise on sleep quality, emotional problems, executive function, and neurophysiological characteristics in college students with depressive symptoms. The study consists of two sequential phases: an acute exercise experiment followed by an 8-week exercise intervention. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an exercise intervention group or a control group. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state electroencephalography (EEG), brain functional connectivity, and event-related potentials (ERP) will be assessed to evaluate behavioral and neurophysiological changes before and after exercise. The study will further examine whether the immediate response to acute exercise predicts the effectiveness of the long-term intervention.
Detailed description
Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among college students and are frequently accompanied by poor sleep quality, emotional disturbances, impaired executive function, and altered brain activity. Although physical exercise has been recognized as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for improving mental health, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these benefits remain unclear.
This study adopts an exploratory randomized controlled design consisting of two consecutive phases. In Phase I, participants will complete a single session of low-to-moderate intensity exercise to investigate immediate changes in emotional state, executive function, resting-state EEG, brain functional connectivity, and event-related potentials (ERP). In Phase II, the same participants will continue to participate in an 8-week exercise intervention to examine the effects of regular exercise on sleep quality, depressive symptoms, emotional problems, executive function, and neurophysiological characteristics.
Behavioral assessments, standardized psychological questionnaires, resting-state EEG, brain functional connectivity analysis, and ERP recordings will be performed before and after intervention. The study will also investigate whether the immediate response to acute exercise is associated with subsequent improvements following long-term exercise intervention, providing evidence for individualized exercise prescriptions and neurophysiological mechanisms of exercise in college students with depressive symptoms.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Archery Exercise Group | Experimental | Behavioral: Archery ExerciseParticipants assigned to this group will first complete one supervised session of low-to-moderate intensity archery exercise and will subsequently participate in an 8-week regular archery exercise program. The acute exercise session consists of a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of archery exercise, and a 5-minute cool-down. The 8-week intervention will be conducted three times per week, with at least 48 hours between sessions. Exercise intensity will be maintained at 50%-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate and monitored using heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state EEG, and task-related ERP assessments will be completed before and after the acute session and before and after the 8-week intervention. |
| Control Group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Non-exercise ControlParticipants assigned to this group will complete an equal-duration seated rest or non-exercise control activity during the acute experiment. During the subsequent 8-week period, participants will maintain their usual lifestyle and attend the laboratory three times per week at the same scheduled times as the exercise group to complete 30 minutes of seated rest or another non-exercise control activity. Psychological questionnaires, behavioral tasks, resting-state EEG, and task-related ERP assessments will be completed at the same assessment time points as those in the archery exercise group. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 23 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (7 listed)
- • Aged 18-23 years.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Vigorous physical exercise, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake, or other stimulating behaviors within 24 hours before testing.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Archery ExerciseParticipants perform a standardized archery exercise program consisting of an acute exercise session followed by an 8-week supervised training program. The acute session includes a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of archery exercise, and a 5-minute cool-down. The long-term intervention is conducted three times per week for 8 weeks at moderate exercise intensity. | Behavioural | Archery Exercise Group |
| Non-exercise ControlParticipants continue their usual daily activities without participating in the archery exercise intervention. | Behavioural | Control Group |
Primary outcome
Depressive symptoms measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Changes in depressive symptom severity following acute and long-term archery exercise interventions will be evaluated.
Sleep quality measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Sleep quality will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Changes in sleep quality after acute and long-term archery exercise interventions will be evaluated.
Resting-state EEG functional connectivity
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.
Resting-state EEG functional connectivity will be analyzed using phase synchronization metrics to evaluate neural changes associated with archery exercise interventions.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 31 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Yongguo Zhu, Professor principal investigator
Capital University of Physical Education and Sports
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Archery Exercise in people with Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbance, run by Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, China at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Yongguo Zhu, Professor (+86 13811265116, zhuyongguo@cupes.edu.cn), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Depressive symptoms measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) (time frame: Baseline, immediately after the acute exercise session, and after completion of the 8-week intervention.). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Jul 2026.