Influence of grit and healthy lifestyle behaviors on anxiety and depression in US adults at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional study.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic altered lifestyles and impacted mental health of many adults. Engaging in physical activity, avoiding prolonged sitting, and consuming a healthy diet improve mental health. The current study investigated the association between health-related lifestyle behaviors on feelings of anxiety and depression in adults during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Adults (n=796) living in the United States completed an internet-based survey in Spring 2020 that included validated survey instruments for moods, physical activity, sitting and dietary behaviors. Multivariate multiple regression models were used to assess the association between health-related lifestyle behaviors and feelings of anxiety and depression. Results: A majority (70.7%; 95% CI: [0.607, 0.807]) of participants met physical activity (PA) guidelines, 43.7% (95% CI: [0.287, 0.587]) sat for ≥ 8 hours per day, and 87.7% (95% CI [0.807, 0.947]) ate a healthy diet. Our final models explained 6.2% and 9.8% of the variance in anxiety and depression, respectively. Vigorous PA (anxiety: B=-0.111, 95% CI: [-0.171,0.000]; depression: B=-0.111, 95% CI: [-0.186,-0.037]) and dietary behaviors (anxiety: B=-0.112, 95% CI: [-0.180,-0.444]; depression: B=-0.112, 95% CI: [-0.213,-0.076]) were associated with reduced feelings of anxiety and depression while sitting time (anxiety: B=0.119, 95% CI: [0.000,0.199]; depression: B=0.119, 95% CI: [0.199,0.199]) were associated with greater feelings of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Engaging in vigorous physically activity, reducing sitting time, and consuming a healthy diet was associated with reduced feelings of anxiety and depression during the early part of the pandemic. The aforementioned modifiable lifestyle behaviors are independent of each other suggesting improvements in one behavior may improve feelings of anxiety and depression.

Factors Influencing Motivation to Perform Mental and Physical Tasks During the Initial Lockdown Period of the COVID-19.

Drastic changes to lifestyles have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. An unintended consequence of stay at home orders is increased isolation and less social interaction for many people. For overall wellbeing it is important to stay both physically and mentally active; however, for many individual's motivation may be a barrier. There are non-modifiable (e.g. sex, age, personality, infection rates in the area) and modifiable factors (e.g. physical activity, diet, sleep) that may be associated with motivation to perform physical and mental tasks. We collected data from 794 subjects using an online survey between April 13th to May 3rd of 2020. Survey questionnaires included demographics, personality traits, diet, sleep, physical activity levels, mental workload and motivation to perform mental and physical tasks. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the association between non-modifiable and modifiable variables on motivation to perform mental and physical tasks. The results of our analyses suggest that those who reported a higher quality of diet (REAP-S score), exercised vigorously, and reduced their sedentary time, reported higher motivation to perform both mental and physical tasks. Those who were employed and had higher grit were more motivated to perform physical tasks. Lower trait physical energy was associated with greater motivation to perform mental tasks. Our findings support that during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for healthcare practitioners to emphasize the importance healthy lifestyle behaviors to prevent individuals from experiencing a lack of motivation to perform both mental and physical tasks. Future research should focus on trying to determine the directionality of the relationship between specific healthy lifestyle behaviors and motivation.