Sitting With Knowledge: The Complicated Link Between Depression and Sedentary Lifestyle

Clinical Importance: Exercise and mental health improve depression

• TV watching and other mentally inactive activities were linked to a 43% higher incidence of depression.
• The relationship between depression and passive behavior can be partially explained by inflammation markers such as waist size and C-reactive protein, although glycated hemoglobin has no discernible impact.
• There was no correlation found between depression and mentally taxing duties like reading and office work, suggesting a connection between mental and physical activity.

Not every sitting situation is the same. A recent study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that watching TV while idly parked at your desk is more likely to result in depression than doing office work.

The study,  is notable for its careful consideration of the various ways that sedentary behaviors can impact mental health. It characterized cognitively inactive activities as those requiring little cognitive effort, such as channel surfing. Activities that require higher levels of cognitive stimulation, such as reading or working in an office, were classified as mentally-active.

DISCOVERING THE ROLE OF INFLAMMATION
The researchers examined information , which lists people born in a particular week of that year in the United Kingdom, to investigate depression associated with sitting. From this point forward, data from 4607 participants—roughly split between men and women—were examined by the researchers. Subsequently, the researchers investigated the patients’ inflammatory markers, including glycated hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, and waist circumference, to ascertain their involvement in the association between depression and sedentary activity.

According to the study, engaging in mentally dull activities raised one’s risk of depression by forty-three percent as compared to abstaining from such activities. However, there was no discernible correlation between intellectually active sedentary time and depression, according to the study.

The relationship between mentally indifferent behavior and depression may be partially explained by waist circumference and C-reactive protein levels, two indicators of inflammation in the body. The risk of depression increased by 9.2 percent and 8.3 percent for every unit rise in waist circumference and C-reactive protein levels, respectively.

Still, there was no statistically significant correlation between mentally-passive sedentary behavior and depression in glycated hemoglobin, another inflammatory marker. The absence of effect, as demonstrated by a difference in depression risk of less than 5% independent of glycated hemoglobin levels, the authors concluded, highlighted the complexity of biological systems involved. The researchers came to the conclusion that not all inflammatory markers appeared to contribute equally to the likelihood of depression.

“Our findings also suggest that those at risk for depression and with high levels of mentally-passive sedentary behaviors could benefit from assistance to reduce waist circumference and C-reactive protein via increased levels of physical activity,” the Reports

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
The significance of differentiating various sedentary behavior categories in mental health research was emphasized by this study. The findings casts doubt on the widespread belief that there is equal risk associated with all sedentary behavior. It implies that the type of activity matters and that there are many intricate and poorly known mechanisms influencing them. The difference between cognitively-passive and cognitively-active activities is especially important since it suggests that sitting-related physical and mental activity influences mental health outcomes.

Given that slow lives are the norm in the modern world, the consequences of these findings are especially pertinent. The American Journal of Epidemiology conducted a research that found that, although this varies depending on age, lifestyle, and occupation, adults in the country spend, on average, 6.4 hours a day seated. An average office worker sits in a chair for 8.2 hours per day.

The researchers suggest making little adjustments to make sitting more enjoyable and perhaps beneficial for mental health. For example, they suggested substituting more mentally engaging activities, like reading or solving puzzles, for at least some TV time.

Moreover, the results of the study about the connection between depression and inflammation in sedentary behavior may open the door to new preventative measures. Focusing on lowering inflammation by dietary and exercise modifications, people may be able to lessen the psychological problems connected to immobility. This “mind and body” strategy, which addresses both the physical and mental aspects of health, may promote a more holistic approach to health care.

“While physical activity guidelines recommend reducing and breaking up sedentary time, our findings suggest that recommendations specific to mental health could emphasize reducing mentally-passive sedentary time,” the Reports.