Scientists have claimed to reduce the risk of depression when replacing TV with sports

Researchers at the European Psychiatric Association have found that reducing time spent in front of the TV and replacing it with other more active activities can help prevent the risk of major depressive disorder, especially in middle age. This was reported on February 12 by Science Daily magazine.

Rosa Palazuelos-Gonzalez, the lead author of the study from the University of Groningen, noted that this work stands out for its immersion in what happens when time spent watching TV is actively replaced by other activities, such as exercise or sleep. Early studies mainly analyzed the link between a sedentary lifestyle and depression, rather than how replacing TV with other activities might affect the risk of the disease.

"We found that reducing TV viewing time by 60 minutes and reallocating it to other activities reduces the likelihood of developing severe depression by 11%. When the time is reallocated to 90 and 120 minutes, this decrease in probability increases to 25.91%," Palazuelos—Gonzalez said.

The results are based on a large study involving 65,454 adults without depression at the start of the study. They were followed for four years and detailed comparisons were made between the age groups. Participants reported how much time they spent actively moving, physically active at work or school, watching TV, and sleeping. Major depression was diagnosed using a mini-interview in neuropsychiatry (MINI).

The most noticeable improvements were observed in middle-aged people. Among them, replacing one hour of daily TV time with other activities reduced the risk of depression by 18.78%. Replacing 90 minutes reduced the probability by 29%, while replacing two hours resulted in a 43% reduction.

Sad for a long time: doctors talked about the peculiarities of dealing with prolonged depression

Why can't you ignore disturbing thoughts and a bad mood?

Almost all types of substitution were associated with a lower risk of depression, with the exception of one. Replacing just 30 minutes of TV with household chores did not show a significant effect. However, reallocating 30 minutes to exercise reduced the risk by 18%. Replacing this time with physical activity at work or at school reduced the risk by 10.21%, while leisure or travel time decreased by 8%, and sleep time decreased by 9%. In all studies, sport has shown the greatest reduction in the likelihood of developing depression.

Among the elderly, simply reallocating time from TV to other daily activities did not lead to significant changes in depression levels. The only activity that has had a noticeable impact is participation in sports. Replacing 30 minutes of TV with sports reduced the likelihood of depression from 1.01% to 0.71% for this group of people. At 60 minutes, the risk decreased to 0.63%, and at 90 minutes — to 0.56%.

In young people, the redistribution of time for physical activity also had no significant effect on the risk of depression. The researchers noted that young people are usually more physically active, and suggest that this group is already exceeding the level of activity that helps protect against depression.

On February 10, Medical Xpress magazine reported on the effectiveness of aerobics for depression and anxiety. Researchers have found that exercise has an average effect on depression symptoms and a small to medium effect on anxiety. The most significant effect was seen in young people aged 18 to 30 years and women who had recently given birth to children.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.