Improve Your Mental Health
Is rising early any different from those night owls who prefer to be active during the late hours of the day? Apparently, the University of Pittsburg conforms to this – in their new study on mental health, focusing on activity patterns.
The researchers tracked the movements of approximately 1,800 participants over the age of 65 years old, using fitness watches, for over a week. After analyzing the findings, they noticed a pattern where 38% of the participants preferred to wake up early, around 7 a.m. These adults were also less depressed and performed better cognitively.
On the other hand, those participants who woke up during the regular morning routines, i.e., after 7 a.m. were found to experience depressive symptoms and lower cognitive performance.
There is a bi-directional relationship between waking up early, i.e., at 7 am, and the ability to perform better for mental health. The good news is – everyone can take small steps and make simple changes to improve health and restructure their regular activity patterns.
