Abstract
Introduction: Major depressive disorder, commonly known as depression, is a complex mental disorder that affects 30% of university students. First-year university students are under unique types of stress and may adopt negative lifestyle habits including decreased sleep and exercise. These changes can affect depression levels, however, research addressing depression and its lifestyle risks within this population is limited.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity, stress, sleep quality, and depression as well as how these variables change over first-year of university.
Method: 301 first-year undergraduate students (230 females, 71 males) between the ages of 17 and 23 years old completed validated questionnaires examining exercise habits, sleep quality, stress and depression levels at two time points during the first academic year; September (pre-study) and March/April (post-study).
Results and Conclusion: Light, moderate and vigorous exercise, MET minutes and energy expenditure significantly decreased, while perceived stress scores and depression significantly increased from pre-study to post-study. The number of stressful events did not change between time points. The number of stressful events and perceived stress scores pre-study were positively related to pre-study depression, while pre-study energy expenditure and depression, and post-study sleep quality and perceived stress were significantly related to post-study depression. Results emphasize the need to focus on ways to increase first-year students' ability to deal with stress, potentially by increasing resources for students as well their awareness of them, in order to decrease mental health issues within this population and ease the transition into university.
