Momentary mood predicts upcoming real‐life sedentary behavior

Humans in the industrialized world spend a large amount of daily time in sedentary
behavior. Since sedentariness negatively impacts a variety of psychophysiological
outcomes, the identification of antecedents that lead to sedentary behavior is an im-
portant public health issue. In this context, mood, a central indicator for both psy-
chological well-being and mental health, is severely understudied. To investigate
whether mood dimensions influence subsequent sedentary behavior, we assessed
both constructs at baseline via questionnaires and via ambulatory assessment (AA)
over 5days in 92 university employees. We continuously measured sedentary behav-
ior using accelerometers and assessed mood repeatedly 10 times each day on smart-
phone diaries. We employed multiple regression analyses to analyze between-subject
effects and multilevel modeling to analyze within-subject effects. Higher momentary
ratings of valence (P<.05) and energetic arousal (P<.01) predicted lower amounts
of subsequent sedentary behavior, whereas higher ratings of calmness (P<.01) pre-
dicted higher amounts of subsequent sedentary behavior. The context moderated the
effect of energetic arousal and calmness on sedentary behavior with increased effects
in the home compared to the work context. Mood significantly predicted sedentary
behavior on a within-subject level but not on a between-subject level. Preliminary
evidence suggests that mood regulates sedentary behavior in everyday life. Time-
sensitive analyses, such as from moment to moment revealed an association between
mood and sedentary behavior (within-subject), whereas analyses between different
individuals revealed no associations (between-subject). These preliminary findings
may inform multicomponent intervention strategies that target mood, to reduce sed-
entary behavior in daily life.