Estonian Adolescents’ Self-Assessment of Health, More Frequent Health Complaints and Their Relationship with Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep Duration
It is common knowledge that regular physical activity is good for health, improves general well-being and prevents health complaints. It is also known that excessive screen time and insufficient sleep can lead to various health complaints, including psychological problems. However, which physical activity factors have a greater impact on health assessments and more frequent health complaints, including mental health indicators: exercise frequency, exercise intensity, or time spent being physically active outdoors? Additionally, in terms of health-related indicators, which is more critical: longer screen time or shorter sleep duration? Based on this, the aim of this study was to explore the relationships between health assessments, more frequent health complaints, and various factors related to physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration. The study was conducted among school students aged 12 - 17. Data on self-assessment of health, more frequent health complaints, frequency of exercise, intensity of exercise or physically active time outdoors, screen time and sleep duration were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to find relationships. The results of the study revealed that: 1) Among the various physical activity indicators, exercise frequency and the duration of intensive exercise were found to be more significant for better health assessments and fewer health complaints compared to the time spent being physically active outdoors. 2) Longer sleep duration was found to be more important than shorter screen time for improving health assessments and reducing the frequency of health complaints. 3) More frequent exercise, extended periods of moderate and vigorous intensity exercise, reduced screen time, and longer sleep duration were equally important for reducing both somatic and psychological health complaints.
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