Prolonged Sitting at Work Fuels Anxiety & Depression, Study Finds

Sharon Moore December 08, 2014

Less physical activity has long been linked to mental health issues. Now, a new study found that employees who sit for long periods of time are at greater risk for psychological distress.

The research, which involved 3,367 state government employees, suggest that sitting for longer than six hours per day had higher rates of anxiety and depression compared to those who sat for less than three hours a day.

For the study, participants were asked to fill out a short psychological assessment on their symptoms of anxiety and depression during the last four weeks. They were also asked to rate their current levels of physical activity, leisure-time activity, and general satisfaction with the workplace.

Furthermore, going to the gym after work doesn’t appear to protect workers from the effects of prolonged sitting. When study participants were sedentary for most of the work day, even if they were physically active and getting exercise outside of work, they still showed relatively higher rates of anxiety and depression symptoms than did workers who sat for less than three hours a day.

Prolonged sitting fuels psychological distress

The results showed a significant relationship between rates of psychological distress and sitting. Employees who reported sitting for longer than six hours per day had increased prevalence of moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to those who reported sitting for less than three hours a day.

“Since men and women in our sample reported similar estimations of work stress, unmeasured factors such as work-family conflict and incorporation of work and parenting roles could be differentially affecting women,” writes psychological scientist Michelle Kilpatrick, Ph.D., of the University of Tasmania and colleagues.

The new research was published in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity.

Source of this article: Prolonged Sitting at Work Impacts Anxiety, Depression