Scientists have linked the number of steps and mental well-being
A higher number of daily steps was associated with fewer mental health problems in adolescents a year later. This conclusion was reached by researchers from King's College London and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, after examining data from 5,515 teenagers in the United States. The connection of physical activity with mental health and the characteristics of the adolescent brain is described in the Izvestia article.
Less than 5 thousand steps — more symptoms: what the data showed
The researchers examined data from 5,515 adolescents aged 11-12 years. For three weeks, the participants wore devices that recorded the number of steps taken per day. A year later, the researchers assessed their mental health using a questionnaire filled out by teenagers and their parents. He took into account symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, and behavioral problems.
The analysis showed that the more teenagers walked, the fewer mental health problems they had a year later. Participants who completed less than 5,000 steps per day had the most symptoms. Those who took about 8,000 steps on average had fewer, and those with 12,000 steps or more had the least.
At the same time, within the studied range, scientists did not find a level of physical activity, after which the connection ceased to be observed. The work was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Divyangana Rakesh is a senior lecturer in neuroscience and psychology at King's College London and the lead author of the study.
This study provides us with some of the most compelling evidence that even such an everyday, inexpensive and affordable way of measuring physical activity as the number of steps per day is associated with the brain development and mental health of adolescents.
The brain is changing too: what was found in more active teenagers
The participants with the most daily steps also had slightly thicker brain tissue in two areas related to movement and emotion regulation. This difference helped explain part of the link between the number of steps and better mental health outcomes.
At the same time, scientists did not find a link between the number of daily steps and how well teenagers studied at school.
Qingyang Li, lead author of the study
We are beginning to understand which parts of the brain may be involved in the relationship between the number of steps per day and the mental health of young people. These are preliminary data, but they give us a clearer idea of where to go next.
Another 1-2 thousand steps per day: what differences have scientists noticed
The researchers separately looked at a slight increase in daily physical activity. According to Amanda Paluch, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an increase in the number of steps by 1-2 thousand per day from any baseline was associated with better indicators of brain structure and mental health. This connection continued to strengthen with a further increase in the number of steps.
Amanda Paluch
Teenagers don't have to be elite athletes to benefit. An increase in the number of steps by 1-2 thousand per day, regardless of the baseline, was associated with an improvement in brain structure and mental health, and this beneficial relationship continues to strengthen.
The study was conducted on data collected from 21 American centers. The number of steps was measured using wearable devices, rather than based on participants' self-reports. According to the authors, this method allows for a more accurate assessment of habitual physical activity than the questionnaires that were used in many previous studies.
A connection does not mean a reason.: What remains unknown
The authors emphasized that the work is observational, so it does not show that increasing the number of steps directly improves mental health. The connection persisted after the researchers took into account the teenagers' previous mental health problems, but they noted that participants with fewer of these problems might initially be more active.
In addition, the differences in brain structure were small. There were few teenagers in the sample with an extremely high number of daily steps, so it is not yet clear whether the identified pattern persists beyond the studied range.
Amanda Paluch
The goal is to find realistic and sustainable ways to increase physical activity by taking advantage of everyday opportunities such as going to school, active games, and activities that children really enjoy, so that these benefits are available to teenagers regardless of their age.
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