Objectives

Empirical evidence points to sedentary behavior as a ubiquitous health-related risk factor. Given the increasing number of mental disorders, a growing body of studies now focuses on the relationship between sedentary behavior and mental health. However, momentary interactions between sedentary bouts, mood, and type of cognitive load in daily life are highly understudied.

Methods

To investigate whether sedentary bouts influence mood, we conducted an Ambulatory Assessment study in the everyday life of 103 university students over 5 days. We continuously measured sedentary behavior via accelerometers and assessed mood and type of cognitive load up to six times each day on smartphone diaries. We employed multilevel modeling to analyze the within-person effects of sedentary behavior, and cognitive load on mood.

Results

Sedentary bouts (20-min intervals prior to each e-diary assessment) negatively influenced energetic arousal (p < 0.001) and valence (p = 0.023). Cognitive load (mentally active vs. mentally passive) influenced negatively energetic arousal (p < 0.001) and positively calmness (p = 0.031). Exploratory interaction analyses revealed significant differences between cognitive load and bouts of SB (interrupted vs. uninterrupted).

Conclusions

The negative association between sedentary behavior and two of three mood dimensions (i.e., valence and energetic arousal) suggests sedentary behavior is an important risk factor for mental health among healthy young adults. Additionally, the cognitive load, specifically the distinction between mentally active and mentally passive activities, is an important factor in shaping momentary mood. We strongly recommend reducing prolonged SB and recognizing the potential benefits of engaging in mentally active activities.

中文翻译：

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日常生活中久坐、认知负荷和情绪之间的瞬时关联：一项动态评估研究

目标

经验证据表明久坐行为是一种普遍存在的健康相关风险因素。鉴于精神障碍的数量不断增加，越来越多的研究现在关注久坐行为与心理健康之间的关系。然而，日常生活中久坐、情绪和认知负荷类型之间的短暂相互作用却尚未得到充分研究。

方法

为了调查久坐是否会影响情绪，我们对 103 名大学生进行了为期 5 天的日常生活评估研究。我们通过加速度计持续测量久坐行为，并每天在智能手机日记上评估情绪和认知负荷类型多达六次。我们采用多层次建模来分析久坐行为的人体内影响以及认知负荷对情绪的影响。

结果

久坐（每次电子日记评估之前间隔 20 分钟）会对能量唤醒 ( p  < 0.001) 和效价 ( p  = 0.023) 产生负面影响。认知负荷（心理活跃与心理被动）对精力的唤醒（ p  < 0.001）和积极的平静（p  = 0.031）产生负面影响。探索性交互分析揭示了认知负荷和 SB 发作（中断与不间断）之间的显着差异。

结论

久坐行为与三个情绪维度中的两个（即效价和精力激发）之间的负相关表明久坐行为是健康年轻人心理健康的重要危险因素。此外，认知负荷，特别是心理主动活动和心理被动活动之间的区别，是塑造瞬时情绪的重要因素。我们强烈建议减少长时间的 SB 并认识到从事精神活跃活动的潜在好处。