Too Much Sitting Can Cause Anxiety

People who spend too much time sitting down be it during a daily commute, or in front of a computer or TV may be at increased risk for anxiety, a new review finds.

 

Researchers looked at nine studies that assessed people’s anxiety levels as well as their sedentary behaviour, adding up how much time people spent doing activities like watching TV, working at a computer and playing video games. When examined together, the studies showed “moderate evidence” that increased sedentary behaviour is associated with higher anxiety risk, the researchers wrote in the review to the media. 

 

Understanding the factors that may increase people’s anxiety may help health care providers develop strategies that people could use to decrease and manage their anxiety, the researchers said. 

“It is important that we understand the behavioural factors that may be linked to anxiety, in order to be able to develop evidence-based strategies in preventing managing this illness,” lead researcher Megan Teychenne, a lecturer at Deakin University’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research in Australia, said in a media report. 

 

Studies have linked sedentary behaviour with health problems, including increased risks of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. But there is less research looking at how too much sitting might affect mental health, the researchers said.

 

Anxiety affects more than 27 million people worldwide, the researchers said. In the United States, 18.1 percent of people suffer from an anxiety disorder yearly.

It’s unclear how sedentary behaviour might increase people’s risk of anxiety, but the researchers floated several ideas. Sedentary behaviour may cause disturbances in sleep patterns, poor metabolic health and even social withdrawal — when, for example, a person sits in front of a screen instead of interacting with people. All of these effects may cause anxiety risk to rise, the researchers said.