Spending less time in front of the television and more time on other activities could help prevent major depressive disorder, especially during middle age. That is the conclusion of a new study published in European Psychiatry on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association by Cambridge University Press. Researchers found that the mental health benefits of reducing TV time were strongest for middle-aged adults, while the effects were smaller in younger and older groups.
Lead author Rosa Palazuelos-González of the University of Groningen said the study stands out because it looked at what happens when TV time is actively replaced with other behaviors such as exercise or sleep. Previous research has largely examined links between sedentary lifestyles and depression, rather than analyzing how switching to specific alternative activities might influence the risk of developing the condition.
“We found that reducing TV-watching time by 60 minutes and reallocating it to other activities decreased the likelihood of developing major depression by 11%,” said Palazuelos-González.
“For 90- and 120-minute reallocations, this decrease in likelihood goes up to 25.91%.”
Middle Age Shows the Largest Mental Health Gains
The most striking improvements were seen in middle-aged adults. In this group, replacing one hour of daily TV time with other activities lowered the risk of depression by 18.78%. Shifting 90 minutes reduced the likelihood by 29%, while replacing two hours led to a 43% drop.
Nearly all substitutions were linked to lower depression risk, with one exception. Swapping just 30 minutes of TV for household chores did not produce a meaningful change. However, reallocating 30 minutes to sports reduced risk by 18%. Replacing that time with physical activity at work or school lowered risk by 10.21%, leisure or commuting activities by 8%, and sleep by 9%. Across all time frames studied, sports delivered the greatest reduction in the probability of developing major depression.
Smaller Effects in Older and Younger Adults
Among older adults, simply redistributing TV time to other daily activities did not significantly change depression rates. The only activity that made a measurable difference was sports participation. Replacing 30 minutes of TV with sports reduced the probability of depression from 1.01% to 0.71%. With 60 minutes, the risk dropped to 0.63%, and with 90 minutes, to 0.56%.
In younger adults, moving time away from TV toward physical activities did not significantly alter depression risk. Researchers noted that younger participants tend to be more physically active overall. They suggest this group may already exceed the level of activity that helps protect against depression.
Study Details and Methods
The findings are based on a large population study (a Dutch initiative named ‘Lifelines’) that followed 65,454 adults who did not have depression at the start of the research. Participants were tracked for four years, with careful comparisons made across age groups. Individuals reported how much time they spent on activities such as active commuting, leisure exercise, sports, household tasks, physical activity at work or school, TV watching, and sleep. Diagnoses of major depressive disorder were determined using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.
