Good quality sleep, exercise, and a diet of raw fruits and vegetables — in that order — lead to better mental health and well-being in young adults, says a recent study conducted by the University of Otago, New Zealand. The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology (December) interviewed 1,100 young adults from New Zealand and the US about their sleep, physical activity, diet, and mental health.
“Sleep, physical activity, and a healthy diet can be thought of as the three pillars of health, which promote optimal well-being among young adults, a population in which the prevalence of mental disorders is high and well-being is suboptimal,” says lead author Shay-Ruby Wickham.
However the study found that sleep quality, rather than quantity, was the strongest predictor of mental health and well-being. “While we did see that too little sleep — less than eight hours — and too much sleep — more than 12 hours — were associated with high depression symptoms and lower well-being, sleep quality significantly outranked sleep quantity in predicting mental health and well-being,” she says.