It is known that the sedentary lifestyle causes great negative effects on the health of the body and can impact not only on a physical level but also on a mental level as a recent study points out, leaving long-term consequences.
Sedentary lifestyle and worse mental health
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, last year sedentary behaviors increased, physical activity decreased and at the same time there was a worsening mental health. A recently published study looked at the links between these changes over an 8-week period.
Weekly data from more than 2,300 American adults were collected through online surveys and observed a significant interaction between time spent sitting and depressive symptoms, the incidence of the latter being higher in people who have more sedentary time.
Screen time was negatively associated with positive mental health and, conversely, positively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sitting time is negatively linked to positive mental health.
All this allows us to conclude that a sedentary lifestyle can affect much more than physical health, being a risk factor for worsening mental health. Likewise, it is important not to forget that rapid changes in levels of physical activity or sedentary lifestyle can impact mental and emotional health, leaving long-term consequences.
Research reveals that adequate levels of physical activity are essential for our mental health and that when, for any reason, these behaviors are modified, symptoms of depression or anxiety should be prevented.
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