Differential Impacts of Sleep Quality and Physical Activity on Cognitive Domains in Healthy Young Adults

Abstract

Cognition is a brain-based processes essential for daily functioning. Several factors, including physical activity and sleep quality, have been shown to influence cognitive function. However, whether these factors affect all aspects of cognitive function or only a specific domain has not been adequately explored, especially in young, healthy adults. This study aimed to examine the extent to which specific domains of cognitive function correlate with sleep quality and the level of physical activity in young healthy adults. A cross-sectional observational study was employed. Recruitment was conducted between August 2025 and February 2026, with a total of 40 participants enrolled in the study. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality assessment, Baecke questionnaire for measurement of physical activity level and exercise, and were tested using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate cognitive performance. Pearson correlation analysis showed that higher level of physical activity was significantly correlated with better overall cognitive performance (total score of the MoCA test) (p=0.023, r=0.358). Specifically, physical activity is positively correlated with delayed recall ability (p=0.001, r=0.49), while no significant associations were detected when comparing physical activity to other domains of cognitive function. The correlations between sleep quality with overall score of the MoCA test were not significant. However, domain-specific analysis showed a significant negative association between abstraction skill and sleep quality (p=0.049, r=-0.313). This study suggests that the physical activity levels and sleep quality may affect cognition in a different manner among healthy young adults.