Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DISTEBA), University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 14;19(8):4787. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19084787.
Time spent outdoors and physical activity (PA) promote mental health. To confirm this relationship in the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns, we explored individual levels of anxiety, depression, stress and subjective well-being (SWB) in a cohort of academic students and staff members and tested their association with sport practice, PA at leisure time and time spent outdoors. Our cross-sectional study collected data during the COVID-19 outbreak (April−May 2021) on 939 students and on 238 employees, who completed an online survey on sociodemographic and lifestyle features, depression, anxiety, stress, and SWB. Results showed that the students exhibited higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, and lower levels of SWB (p < 0.001 for all domains) compared to the staff members. Correlation analysis confirmed that PA and time spent in nature were associated to high mental health scores among staff and, more consistently, among students. Finally, mediation analyses indicated that the time spent in nature, social relationships, and levels of energy play a mediator role in the relationship between sport practice and SWB. Our evidence reinforces the protective role of time spent in nature in improving mental health, and provides support for policymakers to make appropriate choices for a better management of COVID-19 pandemic consequences.
户外活动时间和身体活动（PA）可促进心理健康。为了在 COVID-19 封锁之后证实这种关系，我们在一个学术学生和教职员工队列中探索了焦虑、抑郁、压力和主观幸福感（SWB）的个体水平，并测试了它们与运动实践、闲暇时间 PA 和户外活动时间的关联。我们的横断面研究在 COVID-19 爆发期间（2021 年 4 月至 5 月）收集了 939 名学生和 238 名员工的数据，他们完成了一份关于社会人口统计学和生活方式特征、抑郁、焦虑、压力和 SWB 的在线调查。结果表明，与员工相比，学生表现出更高的焦虑、抑郁和压力水平，以及更低的 SWB（所有领域均 p < 0.001）。相关性分析证实，PA 和在大自然中度过的时间与员工以及更一致的学生的高心理健康评分相关。最后，中介分析表明，在大自然中度过的时间、社会关系和能量水平在运动实践与 SWB 之间的关系中起着中介作用。我们的证据强化了在大自然中度过的时间对改善心理健康的保护作用，并为政策制定者提供了支持，以做出适当的选择，更好地管理 COVID-19 大流行的后果。
