Getting enough weekly exercise may help smokers over 40 reduce depression and sleep issues to levels seen in non-smokers, according to a\u00a0study\u00a0from the\u00a0Texas A&M University School of Public Health.<\/p>\n
The study showed that smokers had higher rates of moderate to severe depressive symptoms and sleep disorders than non-smokers. Notably, smokers aged 40 to 59 who did not meet physical activity guidelines were especially likely to report moderate to severe depressive symptoms and sleep disorders.<\/p>\n
Smokers aged 60 and older were more likely to experience sleep disorders. However, engaging in the recommended level of regular physical activity lowered these risks to levels comparable to non-smokers.<\/p>\n
Current physical activity\u00a0guidelines\u00a0for Americans recommend adults get about 300 minutes of moderate activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent mix of both.<\/p>\n
For the study, published in\u00a0Health Education & Behavior, the team analyzed how physical activity might protect against sleep disorders and depressive symptoms among adults in the United States, depending on their smoking status.<\/p>\n
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Each of these has interconnected physiological and psychological pathways that potentially could affect the others. For example, the neurochemical changes that smoking produces can make depressive symptoms worse, which in turn could reduce quality of sleep, while physical activity can improve these conditions.”<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nTaehyun Roh,\u00a0study supervisor, assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,\u00a0Texas A&M University School of Public Health<\/p>\n
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Smoking is associated with diseases such as lung cancer and obstructive pulmonary disease and is the most common preventable\u00a0cause of mortality\u00a0worldwide. Nearly\u00a0one in five\u00a0adults in the United States is a smoker.<\/p>\n
In addition, about\u00a0one in three\u00a0adults in the United States experiences sleep disorders (such as insomnia and sleep apnea), and about\u00a0one in 12\u00a0has depressive symptoms (such as sadness and reduced interest in activities), both of which also are linked to poor health outcomes.<\/p>\n
Roh, along with Texas A&M’s Jeong-Hui Park,\u00a0Tyler Prochnow, and a colleague from Korea’s Kyung Hee University, used data on 3,008 adults from the 2017 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The nationally representative survey, conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, evaluates the health and nutritional status of people in the United States.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, smokers aged 20 to 39 who met physical activity guidelines remained more likely to struggle with sleep disorders than non-smokers.<\/p>\n
“This might be because exercise alone is not sufficient to compensate for the health risks of heavy smoking, because the nature and timing of exercise play a role, or because of some other factor,” Jeong-Hui Park said.<\/p>\n
The bottom line: Physical activity is important for better health – and reducing smoking is, too.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
Journal reference:<\/p>\n