Physical activity and sleep moderate the relationship between stress and screen time in college-aged adults

Abstract

For undergraduate students, excessive screen time is associated with poorer mental health and greater perceived stress. Objective: The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the potential moderating influence of physical activity and sleep on the relationship between screen time and stress. Participants & Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 513 undergraduate students between Fall 2017 & Spring 2020 were given a questionnaire to assess perceived stress level, physical activity engagement, screen time, and sleep. Results: Stepwise hierarchical regression analyses identified that screen time, sleep, and the three-way interaction between screen time, sleep, and physical activity were associated with stress. Post-hoc decomposition revealed that higher levels of physical activity and sleep both mitigated the relationship between screen time and stress. Conclusions: Findings suggest that modifiable health behaviors such as physical activity and sleep may be important factors for managing the negative effects of screen time on stress in college-aged adults.

Highlights

• Excessive screen time is associated with higher levels of stress.

• Cross-sectional sample of 513 college-aged young adults.

• Adiposity and aerobic fitness were unrelated to stress.

• In high active individuals, screen time is unrelated to stress.

• In low active individuals, greater sleep attenuates the screen time-stress relationship.

Keywords:

• Health behaviors
• interaction
• mental health
• well-being

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the many undergraduate research assistants who aided in data collection for this study.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Michigan State University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.