Sydney: Judging by recent headlines and political thinking, you might think that screen time is the only lifestyle that influences teen well-being.
But with young people struggling to deal with increasing mental health issues, it's crucial that we don't have tunnel vision and instead remember all the lifestyle levers they can influence.
Our research, published today, followed Australian secondary school students from 71 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Over time, improvements in sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, and exercise were associated with small but significant improvements in mental health. The opposite was also true when it came to unhealthy behaviors such as screen time, junk food, alcohol consumption and tobacco.
A comprehensive look at the lifestyles of adolescents.
Our new study of more than 4,400 Australian high school students looks at a set of lifestyle behaviors: sleep, moderate to vigorous physical activity, sedentary (inactive) recreational screen time, fruit and vegetable intake, junk food consumption, and sugary drinks. alcohol consumption and smoking. First, we asked seventh-grade students (students aged 12 to 13) to report their levels of these lifestyle behaviors and rate their psychological distress (a general indicator of poor mental health). using a well-known measurement scale.
We then examined how changes in each of the lifestyle behaviors between Year 7 and Year 10 (ages 15 to 16) were related to levels of psychological distress at Year 10. Importantly, we took into account the level of psychological distress that participants reported at Year 7, as well as their lifestyle behaviors at Year 7. This means that we can see the average benefits associated with behavior change, regardless of where people started.
Our research showed that increases over time in healthy behaviors were associated with less psychological distress. In contrast, increases in health risk behaviors were associated with greater psychological distress. How much does it make a difference?
On average, looking at change between Years 7 and 10, each one-hour increase in sleep per night was associated with a 9% reduction in psychological distress.
Each additional day of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week was associated with a 3% reduction in psychological distress. Each additional daily serving of fruit or vegetables was associated with 4% less psychological distress. In contrast, each additional hour of screen time was associated with a 2% increase in psychological distress, as was each unit increase in junk food or sugary drinks.
Because drinking alcohol and smoking are less common in early adolescence, we only analyzed whether or not they had drunk alcohol or smoked in the past six months. We saw that going from not drinking in year 7 to drinking in year 10 was associated with a 17% increase in psychological distress. Going from not smoking to smoking was associated with a 36% increase in psychological distress.
It is important to note that our study cannot definitively say that the lifestyle behavioral change caused the change in distress. The study also cannot account for changes in a student's circumstances, such as their home life or relationships. With the baseline survey conducted in 2019 and the year 10 survey conducted in 2022, there was also the potential impact of COVID. But our longitudinal design (following the same subjects over an extended period) and the way we structured the analysis They help illustrate the relationship over time.
Our study did not measure vaping, but evidence shows that, like smoking, it has clear links to adolescent mental health.
What does this mean for teens and parents? National guidelines for these behaviors set aspirational goals based on optimal health goals. But movement guidelines and dietary guidelines may seem out of reach for many teens. In fact, most participants in our study did not meet guidelines for physical activity, sleep, screen time, and vegetable consumption by year 10.
What our research shows is that a healthy lifestyle change doesn't have to be all or nothing.
Even relatively small changes (sleeping an extra hour each night, eating an extra serving of fruit or vegetables each day, cutting out an hour of screen time, or adding an extra day of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week) are linked to improvements in mental health. And accumulating changes in multiple areas is likely to help you even more. Parents can play an important role in shaping lifestyle habits (even in adolescence!). Expenses and time can be barriers, but anything parents can do within their means is a step in the right direction.
For example, modeling healthy social media use, making affordable changes to your grocery store to improve nutritional content, or even introducing regular bedtimes. And parents can gather information so young people can make positive decisions about alcohol, tobacco and other substance use, including vaping.
The Bigger PictureLifestyle changes can contribute to better mental health in adolescents, but they are only one piece of the puzzle. We cannot let the burden of addressing the youth mental health crisis fall solely on the lifestyles of adolescents. There is much to do at school, community and policy levels to create a society that supports young people's mental health.
Young people struggling with their mental health may need professional support, which parents and carers can help them access. Teens or young adults can also contact ReachOut or Kids Helpline directly for resources and support. (The conversation) AMS
But with young people struggling to deal with increasing mental health issues, it's crucial that we don't have tunnel vision and instead remember all the lifestyle levers they can influence.
Our research, published today, followed Australian secondary school students from 71 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Over time, improvements in sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, and exercise were associated with small but significant improvements in mental health. The opposite was also true when it came to unhealthy behaviors such as screen time, junk food, alcohol consumption and tobacco.
A comprehensive look at the lifestyles of adolescents.
Our new study of more than 4,400 Australian high school students looks at a set of lifestyle behaviors: sleep, moderate to vigorous physical activity, sedentary (inactive) recreational screen time, fruit and vegetable intake, junk food consumption, and sugary drinks. alcohol consumption and smoking. First, we asked seventh-grade students (students aged 12 to 13) to report their levels of these lifestyle behaviors and rate their psychological distress (a general indicator of poor mental health). using a well-known measurement scale.
We then examined how changes in each of the lifestyle behaviors between Year 7 and Year 10 (ages 15 to 16) were related to levels of psychological distress at Year 10. Importantly, we took into account the level of psychological distress that participants reported at Year 7, as well as their lifestyle behaviors at Year 7. This means that we can see the average benefits associated with behavior change, regardless of where people started.
Our research showed that increases over time in healthy behaviors were associated with less psychological distress. In contrast, increases in health risk behaviors were associated with greater psychological distress. How much does it make a difference?
On average, looking at change between Years 7 and 10, each one-hour increase in sleep per night was associated with a 9% reduction in psychological distress.
Each additional day of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week was associated with a 3% reduction in psychological distress. Each additional daily serving of fruit or vegetables was associated with 4% less psychological distress. In contrast, each additional hour of screen time was associated with a 2% increase in psychological distress, as was each unit increase in junk food or sugary drinks.
Because drinking alcohol and smoking are less common in early adolescence, we only analyzed whether or not they had drunk alcohol or smoked in the past six months. We saw that going from not drinking in year 7 to drinking in year 10 was associated with a 17% increase in psychological distress. Going from not smoking to smoking was associated with a 36% increase in psychological distress.
It is important to note that our study cannot definitively say that the lifestyle behavioral change caused the change in distress. The study also cannot account for changes in a student's circumstances, such as their home life or relationships. With the baseline survey conducted in 2019 and the year 10 survey conducted in 2022, there was also the potential impact of COVID. But our longitudinal design (following the same subjects over an extended period) and the way we structured the analysis They help illustrate the relationship over time.
Our study did not measure vaping, but evidence shows that, like smoking, it has clear links to adolescent mental health.
What does this mean for teens and parents? National guidelines for these behaviors set aspirational goals based on optimal health goals. But movement guidelines and dietary guidelines may seem out of reach for many teens. In fact, most participants in our study did not meet guidelines for physical activity, sleep, screen time, and vegetable consumption by year 10.
What our research shows is that a healthy lifestyle change doesn't have to be all or nothing.
Even relatively small changes (sleeping an extra hour each night, eating an extra serving of fruit or vegetables each day, cutting out an hour of screen time, or adding an extra day of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week) are linked to improvements in mental health. And accumulating changes in multiple areas is likely to help you even more. Parents can play an important role in shaping lifestyle habits (even in adolescence!). Expenses and time can be barriers, but anything parents can do within their means is a step in the right direction.
For example, modeling healthy social media use, making affordable changes to your grocery store to improve nutritional content, or even introducing regular bedtimes. And parents can gather information so young people can make positive decisions about alcohol, tobacco and other substance use, including vaping.
The Bigger PictureLifestyle changes can contribute to better mental health in adolescents, but they are only one piece of the puzzle. We cannot let the burden of addressing the youth mental health crisis fall solely on the lifestyles of adolescents. There is much to do at school, community and policy levels to create a society that supports young people's mental health.
Young people struggling with their mental health may need professional support, which parents and carers can help them access. Teens or young adults can also contact ReachOut or Kids Helpline directly for resources and support. (The conversation) AMS
