It is obvious to more or less everyone that spending hours immobile in front of the TV is not good for your health. A sedentary lifestyle is the enemy of the heart, the waistline, increases the risk of suffering from diabetes and even some forms of cancer. Less known, perhaps, is that the hours we spend riveted in front of the television also pose a risk to our mental well-being. This is confirmed by a study by the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, which demonstrates how reducing the time spent on television programs daily by just one hour drastically reduces the chances of suffering from major depression.
The study
The research, published in the journal European Psychiatry, analyzed data from a large study that monitored over 65,000 Dutch adults over a period of several years. Unlike other previous research, the new analysis did not limit itself to looking for a link between a sedentary lifestyle, time spent in front of the television screen, and the risk of developing depression. The authors have in fact used statistical techniques to simulate what would happen by replacing the time dedicated to television with other less passive pastimes.
The results were surprising. “We observed that reducing the time spent in front of the television by 60 minutes and replacing it with other activities decreases the probability of developing major depression by 11 percent,” confirms Rosa Palazuelos-González, a researcher at the University of Groningen who coordinated the study. “And if we go up to 90 or 120 minutes less per day, the reduction reaches 25.91 percent.”
A lifesaver in middle age
However, the benefits of watching less TV did not emerge at every age, on the contrary: in the over 65s, abandoning the remote control a little earlier did not demonstrate measurable effects on mood. In middle age, however, the reduction in the risk of developing depression was even more marked: 18 percent less for one hour less, 29 percent less for 90 minutes, and over 40 percent in the case of two hours taken away from television and dedicated to some better pastime.
How beneficial the change in habits is also depends on the pastime chosen to replace television. 30 minutes of sport lowers the chances of becoming depressed by 18 percent, physical activity at school or work by 10 percent, social activities reduce it by 8 percent, and even sleeping an extra half hour reduces the risk by 9 percent. The only exception is household chores: strange but true, dedicating 30 minutes more to cleaning while taking away time from watching TV does not seem to produce benefits on our psychological health.