Why You Need to Spend Less Time at Home– Especially Now

Intentionally connect with the outside world, even during remote learning & working.

The coronavirus pandemic has showed us the detrimental effects that isolation and staying within the confines of your home can have on mental health. Researchers from the RADAR-CNS (Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse – Central Nervous System) Project discovered that symptoms of depression worsened in people with Major Depression Disorder who spent more time at home during the two-week study, published in 2022.

This may seem unsurprising, but I want to point out two things about this study that I found most interesting:

1. The association between time spent at home and worsened depression symptoms was stronger on weekdays than on weekends.

This initially seemed strange to me, since the weekends are when people often socialize. However, it indicates the importance of immersing yourself in the outside world during the week when you have work and/or learning obligations. In the age of virtual working and learning, we may feel obliged to stay home and complete our work. However, these results lead me to suggest that we should be taking our work to a setting outside of the home – a library, a park, a coffee shop – or set aside time on a daily basis to take a break and spend some time outside.

It is important to note that this was a preliminary study on a sample of 164 individuals with Major Depression Disorder. However, the results are interesting and can be used to propel investigations on larger populations.

2. The study used wearable devices to obtain geolocation data on participants.

Wearable devices are beginning to shift toward the wellness sector rather than just tracking fitness metrics like step count and calories burned. The RADAR-CNS study is exploring the use of wearable technology in predicting and measuring clinical outcomes of various mental health disorders. This study used geolocation data to predict depression outcomes and provided promising results toward the goal of the project.

I am very excited by the potential of technology to improve mental health and to track health data in a non-invasive manner. The coronavirus pandemic has significantly propelled mental health research and I am confident that a happier and healthier future is ahead for all of us.