Technological advances may have aided the world population in surviving during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, a new study has revealed that many individuals have seemed to want to remain stationary as a result of their sedentary lifestyle since the outbreak of the pandemic. According to the study, those who sat for an extended period of time between April and June 2020 were more likely to develop depressive symptoms. “We knew COVID was going to affect our behaviour and what we could do in lots of weird, wacky ways that we couldn’t foresee," said Iowa State University research co-author Jacob Meyer. He oversaw two research to determine how inactivity during that time influenced people’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of the world.
The most recent findings were published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. Over 3,000 volunteers from 50 states in the US, as well as some individuals from the District of Colombia, contributed to the study’s completion.
The study found that respondents who had obtained the suggested 2.5 to 5 hours per week of moderate to intense physical activity before the pandemic had a 32% drop in activity immediately after COVID-related limitations went into place. As per the data published last year in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, those participants mentioned feeling more depressed, anxious, and isolated.
Sitting, according to Meyer, is a ‘sneaky habit.” The activity’s normalcy allows individuals to participate without having to think or analyze too much. Meyer and colleagues (University’s Wellbeing and Exercise Laboratory) carried the study to determine the relationship between an individual’s sedentary behaviors, physical activities, and their mental health state.
Based on the findings, the participants were asked to complete a survey that included information such as how much time they spent on physical activities like exercising, screen time, and simply sitting. Participants were also asked to distinguish their present habits from their pre-pandemic tendencies.
He pointed out that the existence of a linkage between sitting and mental health does not imply that sitting causes depression. Meyer speculated that those who were more depressed, sat more, or that people who sat more got more depressed. Other elements might also be at play.
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