OBJECTIVES: Step count is linked to better mental health and sleep outcomes for middle-aged and older adults, but less research has been done among young adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate how step count is associated with mental health and sleep outcomes in college students. METHOD: = 217) from two universities wore a commercial activity tracker and completed daily diaries across 14 days. Linear mixed-effect modeling was used to test if step counts were associated with mental health (i.e. anxiety, depression, stress) and sleep outcomes (i.e. sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep midpoint, sleep quality). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify the minimum step count connected with better outcomes. RESULTS: < .01). ROC curve analyses yielded non-significant results, limiting step count recommendations for mental health and sleep. CONCLUSIONS: More steps, on average, were linked to less mental health symptoms, earlier sleep timing, and better sleep quality among college students. Future research needs to account for sedentariness, walking location and intensity.
Sy et al. (Fri,) studied this question.