Reduce sedentary time and improve depression with juli

A new study from our Co-founder and CSO finds that replacing sedentary behaviour with light activity or moderate-to-vigorous activity can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The study, published in BMC Medicine involved 60,235 adults from the UK Biobank whose daily activity was measured by an accelerometer.

The research team then used recently developed statistical methods to estimate the effect on depression and anxiety if the participant switched their sedentary time for more active behaviours or sleep. Replacing sedentary time with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had the biggest impact on reducing depression and anxiety.

Effect of replacing daily sedentary time for other movement behaviours and sleep on depressive symptoms. LPA, light physical activity; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. After accounting for age, sex, socioeconomic position, smoking, baseline depression and anxiety symptoms, education, chronic illness, and diet

Senior author Dr Joseph Hayes said: “Our findings suggest that even switching 20 minutes of sedentary time to moderate or vigorous physical activity could have a substantial positive effect reducing depression symptoms by 5%. Moderate intensity activities include things like brisk walking, riding a bike or dancing.”

“The juli app helps people to understand the relationship between their activity levels, sleep and mood and with Daily Dares nudges them towards healthier behaviours in a fun and easily achievable way.”

The research involved academics at UCL, King’s College London, Australian Catholic University and Harvard University, and was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, Wellcome, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, UK Department of Health, the Scottish government, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Welsh Assembly government, and British Heart Foundation