Turning off TV is ticket to better mental health in middle age

Replacing time spent watching TV with other activities can help prevent depressive disorder in middle-aged adults, revealed a new study in European Psychiatry, published on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association by Cambridge University Press. The effects were less pronounced in older and younger adults.  

Lead researcher Rosa Palazuelos-González, of the University of Groningen, said that this new study is unique for investigating how reallocating time from TV-watching to various physical activities and sleep affects the onset of depression. Most studies until now have focused on identifying correlations between sedentary lifestyles and incidences of depression, rather than tracking how replacement activities affect the condition. 

“We found that reducing TV-watching time by 60 minutes and reallocating it to other activities decreased the likelihood of developing major depression by 11 percent,” said Palazuelos-González. 

“For 90- and 120-minute reallocations, this decrease in likelihood goes up to 25.91 percent.” 

Middle-aged people benefit more from watching less 

The benefits for middle-aged people who replace TV-watching with other activities are especially pronounced. Among this demographic, reallocating 60 minutes daily from TV-watching to other activities decreased the probability of developing depression by 18.78 percent. Reallocating 90 minutes resulted in decreased likelihood of 29 percent, and 120 minutes led to a reduction of 43 percent. 

All reallocations of TV-watching time to specific activities were associated with reduced depression risk, except for reallocating only 30 minutes to household activities, which did not yield a significant effect. When reallocating 30 minutes specifically to sports, the reduction was 18 percent; to work/school physical activities, 10.21 percent; to leisure/commute activities, 8 percent; and to sleep, 9 percent. Time reallocations to sports, at any given duration, resulted in the largest reductions in the probability of major depression onset compared to all other activities. 

Fewer comparable benefits for older adults and young adults 

In older adults, reallocating TV-watching time proportionally to other activities did not lead to statistically significant reductions in onset of depression. Only substituting TV-watching time with sports reduced the probability of becoming depressed, from 1.01 to 0.71 percent with 30 minutes, 0.63 percent with 60 minutes, and 0.56 percent with 90 minutes. 

In young adults, reallocating TV-watching time to one or multiple movement activities did not significantly change the likelihood of them developing depression. However, this group is also more physically active than older age groups – the researchers suggest that they may have already surpassed the physical activity threshold that is protective against depression.  

This research was developed using a population-based cohort study (a Dutch initiative named ‘Lifelines’) with a four-year follow-up, which included 65,454 non-depressed adults. Patterns across age groups were examined carefully. Participants self-reported time spent in active commuting, leisure, sports, household, physical-related activities at work or school, TV-watching, and sleep. Major depressive disorder was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.