Relating physical exercise to “lying flat” among Chinese college students: the chain mediation of temporal focus and the sense of meaning in life

In recent years, the phenomenon of "neijuan" (involution) has intensified pressures among Chinese college students and often leads to burnout and "lying flat", a state of disengagement characterized by reduced effort and low ambition. We hypothesized that physical exercise might mitigate "lying flat" tendencies, with temporal focus and sense of meaning in life acting as mediators. This study employed a cross-sectional design, surveying 679 undergraduate students. Key results revealed a significant negative correlation between physical exercise and behavioral "lying flat". Indirect effects were also significant, with the sense of meaning in life mediating the relationship between physical exercise and both behavioral "lying flat" and psychological "lying flat". Additionally, a chain mediation effect was observed, where temporal focus and sense of meaning in life together mediated the relationship between physical exercise and behavioral "lying flat" as well as psychological "lying flat". Physical exercise is negatively associated with "lying flat", particularly behavioral "lying flat", with temporal focus and sense of meaning in life as chain mediators. These findings indicate the necessity of integrating physical exercise programs and meaning-focused initiatives in universities to combat "lying flat", potentially improving student well-being and societal outcomes.