The Moderating Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Sleep and Emotional Distress: A Secondary Data Analysis Using the Health Interview Survey from 2005-2015
Abstract
This study examined the moderating effect physical activity has on the sleep-emotional distress relationship. The findings indicate that PA moderates this relationship. To test the hypothesis that physical activity moderates the relationship between sleep and emotional distress, a moderation regression analysis was performed. The first regression model without covariates accounted for a significant amount of variance in emotional distress stemming from sleep, F(3, 142516) =2731.87, p < .001. The physical activity variable was also found to be a significant moderator in this model, b =-.07, t(142516) = 84.78, p < .001. The larger regression model with relevant covariates accounted for a significant amount of variance in emotional distress stemming from sleep habits; R2= .08, F (7, 121088) = 1,619.72, p < .001. The physical activity variable was also found to have a significant main effect in this model, b=-.08, t(121,088) = 9.01, p= <.001. The interaction effect of Sleep*PA was significant, showing a moderation effect b=-.06, t(121088) =7.26, p < .001. However, when the data was stratified to include only blacks, the moderation effect failed to achieve significance, b = -.03, t(121,088) = -1.45, p=.149. These findings raise questions about the nature of physical activity for different demographic populations, and its effectiveness as a moderator for other health outcomes across demographics. Further research is needed to explore PA’s influence on mood while taking into consideration other relevant factors, and more research is needed to explore more detailed effects of PA on the Sleep-ED relationship.
Subject Area
Psychology|Public health|Mental health
Recommended Citation
Moore, Jesse, "The Moderating Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Sleep and Emotional Distress: A Secondary Data Analysis Using the Health Interview Survey from 2005-2015" (2019). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI22619741.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI22619741
