Sedentary Behaviors, Sleep, and Health-related Quality of Life in Middle-aged Adults.

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, we examined the associations of various sedentary behaviors (SB) to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the possible mediating role of sleep quality in these relationships. Methods: Participants were 363 middle-aged adults (Mage = 44.25, SD = 4.72, 64% male) from Amazon MTurk. Self-reported measures of socio-demographic status, time spent doing 10 different types of SB, sleep quality, and HRQOL were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was used to classify SB. Mediation analysis with PROCESS for SPPS examined the mediational paths. Results: Exploratory factor analysis categorized 10 sedentary activities into Common Engaging SB, High Engaging/Leisure SB, and Less Engaging/Passive SB. Findings suggested that Common Engaging SB was negatively associated with HRQOL, whereas High Engaging/Leisure SB was positively related to HRQOL. Sleep quality appeared to mediate the associations of Common Engaging SB and High Engaging/Leisure SB to HRQOL. Conclusions: Reducing sitting time, particularly Common Engaging SB, could be a useful strategy to improve HRQOL. Health promotion programs should support mentally engaging leisure activities because such activities might increase middle-aged adults HRQOL. Additionally, health promotion programs are needed to raise public awareness regarding the importance of sleep quality.