Stressed out from Sitting? - Exploring the Relationship Between Sedentary Behaviour and State Perceived Psychological Stress in University Students Using Experience Sampling

Our society, especially university students, spends a significant time sedentary, which can lead to serious health consequences. This study aimed to explore the relationship between mentally active or passive sedentary time and state perceived psychological stress within university students over time, and the role of physical activity as a moderator. An Experience Sampling study was conducted and linear Mixed Models were used for analysis. A significant negative relationship was observed between passive sedentary time and stress (B = -0.110, SE = .052, F(248.846,612.059) = 4.510, p = .034). However, no significant relationships for total (p = .329) or active (p = .689) sedentary time with stress were found. Physical activity was not moderating the relationship for total (p = .714), active (p = .691), or passive (p = .850) sedentary time and stress. The current study’s results go against expectations set by previous research on the topic of sedentary behaviour. Mentally passive sedentary time was found to reduce state perceived psychological stress, which was the opposite direction as previously expected. Total and active sedentary time were not significantly associated with stress. Future research should investigate the latter relationship further to gain deeper knowledge and clarify the actual relationship.