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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Associations between physical activity intensity, daily physical activity time, and depression: A cross-sectional study of sleep duration
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1 Department of Medical Psychology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai,
China
2 Department of Medical Psychology, The 908th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, Nanchang,
China
3 Department of Medical Psychology, No. 905 Hospital of PLA Navy, Shanghai,
China
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
JCBP, 026050007 https://doi.org/10.36922/JCBP026050007
Received: 27 January 2026 | Revised: 11 May 2026 | Accepted: 14 May 2026 | Published online: 12 June 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the associations between physical activity intensity, daily physical activity time, and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults, and to explore the potential mediating role of sleep duration. Data were drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), including 19,367 adults aged 45 years and older. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Physical activity was categorized by different intensities and self-reported daily activity time, and sleep duration was measured via self-report. Spearman correlation tests and exploratory mediation analyses were conducted to explore the relationships among physical activity, sleep, and depressive symptoms. Both moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity were associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). The effect of daily activity time on depression varied nonlinearly with intensity. Sleep duration partially mediated the association between vigorous physical activity and depressive symptoms. The mental health benefits of physical activity in middle-aged and older adults depend on both intensity and duration, with a complex nonlinear relationship observed. Sleep may partially contribute to the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms, underscoring the potential importance of balancing exercise load with adequate recovery.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
Depression
Physical activity
Sleep
Middle-aged and older adults
Mediation
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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