Watching Less TV Could Cut Depression Risk by up to 43%, Study Finds

A large cohort study found that swapping TV-watching for physical activity can meaningfully lower the risk of depression, particularly in middle-aged adults.

A study published in European Psychiatry reports that replacing time spent watching TV with other daily activities may help lower the risk of depressive disorder for middle-aged adults. The researchers noted that this effect was weaker in both younger and older age groups.

According to lead author Rosa Palazuelos-González of the University of Groningen, the study stands out because it examines how shifting time away from TV-watching and into different physical activities or sleep influences the development of depression. She explained that previous research has mostly concentrated on links between sitting for long periods and depression, rather than exploring what happens when those inactive periods are filled with alternative behaviors.

“We found that reducing TV-watching time by 60 minutes and reallocating it to other activities decreased the likelihood of developing major depression by 11 percent,” said Palazuelos-González.

“For 90- and 120-minute reallocations, this decrease in likelihood goes up to 25.91 percent.”

Middle-aged people benefit more from watching less

The benefits were strongest for middle-aged adults. In this group, switching 60 minutes a day from TV-watching to other activities lowered the probability of developing depression by 18.78 percent. A 90-minute shift reduced the likelihood by 29 percent, and a 120-minute change produced a 43 percent decrease.

All reallocations of TV-watching time to specific activities were associated with reduced depression risk, except for reallocating only 30 minutes to household activities, which did not yield a significant effect. When reallocating 30 minutes specifically to sports, the reduction was 18 percent; to work/school physical activities, 10.21 percent; to leisure/commute activities, 8 percent; and to sleep, 9 percent. Time reallocations to sports, at any given duration, resulted in the largest reductions in the probability of major depression onset compared to all other activities.

Fewer comparable benefits for older adults and young adults

In older adults, reallocating TV-watching time proportionally to other activities did not lead to statistically significant reductions in the onset of depression. Only substituting TV-watching time with sports reduced the probability of becoming depressed, from 1.01 to 0.71 percent with 30 minutes, 0.63 percent with 60 minutes, and 0.56 percent with 90 minutes.

In young adults, reallocating TV-watching time to one or multiple movement activities did not significantly change the likelihood of them developing depression. However, this group is also more physically active than older age groups – the researchers suggest that they may have already surpassed the physical activity threshold that is protective against depression.

This research was developed using a population-based cohort study (a Dutch initiative named ‘Lifelines’) with a four-year follow-up, which included 65,454 non-depressed adults. Patterns across age groups were examined carefully. Participants self-reported time spent in active commuting, leisure, sports, household, physical-related activities at work or school, TV-watching, and sleep. Major depressive disorder was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.

Reference: “Effects of substituting TV-watching time with physical activities or sleep on incident major depression. Results from the lifelines cohort study” by Rosa Palazuelos-González, Richard C. Oude Voshaar, Aart C. Liefbroer and Nynke Smidt, 30 May 2025, European Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.10045

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