Association between sedentary behaviour, sleep duration, physical activity and mental health among teachers in China during COVID-19: a cross- sectional study.

Reduced sedentary time was significantly associated with both anxiety and depression among teachers during COVID-19.

• Cross-sectional study targeting teachers from 10 schools in Sichuan Province, China
• Data sourced from the National Population Health Data Center
• Association with anxiety: p = 0.016; association with depression: p = 0.000
• Multifactorial logistic regression with model adjustment was used to explore associations

Adequate sleep duration was significantly associated with both anxiety and depression among teachers.

• Association with anxiety: p = 0.040; association with depression: p = 0.000
• One-way analyses and multifactorial logistic regression were used
• Study population comprised teachers from 10 schools in Sichuan Province during the COVID-19 pandemic

Frequency of physical activity was significantly associated with depression among teachers.

• Association with depression: p = 0.002
• Physical activity frequency, not just presence, was the variable examined
• Association with anxiety was not reported as statistically significant for physical activity frequency

High frequency of physical activity in the context of long sedentary time and short sleep duration may be associated with anxiety and depression.

• This finding emerged from subgroup analyses designed to explore the magnitude of combined effects
• Subgroup analyses examined interactions between sedentary time, sleep duration, and physical activity on mental health outcomes
• This suggests that physical activity alone may not be protective when sedentary time is long and sleep duration is short

The COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in lifestyle behaviors including sedentary behaviour, sleep duration, and physical activity with implications for mental health among teachers.

• Teachers were identified as an important group whose mental health is often overlooked
• The study focused on Sichuan Province, China, drawing data from the National Population Health Data Center
• The study design was cross-sectional, targeting teachers from 10 schools

Integrated behavioural interventions targeting sedentary behaviour, sleep duration, and physical activity are identified as potential targets for prevention and intervention of negative emotions in teachers.

• Authors noted a lack of 24-hour behavioural movement guidelines specific to particular groups such as teachers
• The authors described this gap in group-specific guidelines as needing to be addressed in the future
• Findings support a combined rather than single-behaviour intervention approach