A new study has evaluated 15 activities that protect and boost mental well-being. While most of the everyday activities boosted well-being, the ones that produced the largest effect were free and easy to do.
Preserving mental health is crucial for living a fulfilling life, coping with stressful situations, learning, working effectively, and realizing our potential. So it’s important to engage in measures that maximize and safeguard our mental health and well-being.
A new study by Curtin University in Western Australia investigated 15 activities that have a protective effect on mental health and well-being and ranked them according to their effectiveness. Best of all, they found that the top well-being-boosting activities are inexpensive and easily accessible.
“These aren’t expensive programs or clinical interventions – they’re behaviors that are already part of many people’s lives and can be easily encouraged through public health messaging,” said lead author Professor Christina Pollard, from Curtin’s School of Population Health.
The researchers recruited 603 adults, comprising 301 males and 302 females, with an average age of 49, who were interviewed by telephone about their mental well-being and self-reported physical and mental health. Specifically, they were asked how frequently they engaged in 15 mental health protective behaviors: visiting family, spending time in nature, participating in physical activity, getting together with friends or workmates, attendance at community events, contact with informal or formal groups, attendance at large public events, doing challenging activities, the influence of religion, involvement in cause-related groups, volunteering, engaging in spiritual activities, doing activities that require thinking or concentration, talking or chatting with people outside your home (including online), and helping others.
Two mental health outcome measures were used to examine changes in mental health and well-being. The first was the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS-14), a 14-item scale used to measure subjective mental well-being in the general population. Five response categories are summed to provide a single score that ranges from 14 to 70, with higher scores indicating higher levels of well-being. The second was the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), a six-question survey that screens for psychological distress that isn’t specific to a particular mental disorder. It assesses how often someone has experienced feelings like nervousness, hopelessness, restlessness, sadness, feeling like everything is an effort, and feeling worthless. Total scores range from zero to 24, with higher scores indicating greater distress.
The participants’ mean WEMWBS score was 52.6, and 93% of them reported no psychological distress according to the K6. The researchers found that mental well-being was increased most by chatting with others and spending time in nature. Chatting with others one to six times a week increased participants’ WEMWBS score by 5.8 points compared to those who did it less than weekly. Chatting daily increased the score by an even 10 points. Spending time in nature one to six times a week bumped the WEMWBS score up by 2.99 points, while daily visits were 5.08 points higher than less than weekly visits. Other activities that improved mental well-being included getting together with friends, visiting family, physical activity, engaging in spiritual activities, engaging in activities that require thinking or concentrating, and helping others.
“Regular connection with others, even a daily chat, can make a measurable difference to how people feel,” Pollard said. “Similarly, spending time outdoors or doing something that requires thinking and concentrating, like doing crosswords, reading, or learning a new language, provides an important mental reset.”
The researchers say their findings highlight the importance of long-term investment in population-wide mental health promotion campaigns.
“This research confirms that when people are supported and encouraged to engage in mentally healthy behaviors, the benefits can be felt across the community,” said Pollard. “It’s about prevention, not just treatment – helping people stay mentally well before they reach crisis point.”
The study was published in the journal SSM – Mental Health.
Source: Curtin University
