Abstract: In the research on the high-quality development of higher education, little attention has been paid to the quality of life of the education subjects. Quality of sleep, among other hidden indicators of life quality, is the basis that will further affect the quality of education and thus needs urgent attention. Based on the questionnaire data of 443 college students from five universities in Henan Province, this paper uses structural equation model to analyze the mechanism of rumination and loneliness on sleep quality. It was found that college students in the post-epidemic era have difficulty falling asleep and often wake up early to some extent, and their sleep quality is significantly different across gender, family economic status and education level. Loneliness and negative rumination in rumination can positively predict sleep quality, and negative rumination and positive rumination in rumination can be used as mediating variables between loneliness and sleep quality, respectively. In order to improve sleep quality of college students, some key suggestions are made: we should pay attention to sleep quality of college students, reduce negative association with loneliness, and promote physical and mental health; education management should effectively pay attention to the mediating role of rumination, respect the characteristics of the students' physical and mental development, and we should follow the law of education, carry out effective management, promote the development of individual life and improve the quality of education.

Key words: sleep quality, rumination thinking, loneliness, quality of education, structural equation model