Young people may enjoy better mental health with social connection, sleep and physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to longitudinal survey data published in Journal of Adolescent Health, Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
The study analyzed more than 3,000 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 14, recorded before and during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
‘Social connection, sleep and physical activity may promote better mental health in young people during the COVID-19 pandemic.’
It is seen that supportive relationships with family and friends and healthy behaviors, like participating in physical activity and better sleep appears to offer protection from the pandemic’s harmful effects on adolescent mental health.
“Early adolescence is a time when adolescents are experiencing rapid physical, emotional and social changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the sensitive period. This study helps us understand the modifiable lifestyle factors that influence adolescent mental health and wellbeing, and it can provide information on development interventions to protect young people during times of great stress in their lives are important today, as we continue to face the pandemic and also in responding to crises in future at the local or national level,” Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of NIDA.
Source: Medindia
