Teen wellbeing dependent on more than good sleep, diet and exercise: new research

The study, led by researchers from University of the Sunshine Coast’s Thompson Institute, followed adolescents aged 12-17 across multiple years, examining how a range of lifestyle behaviours and psychosocial factors impacted their future wellbeing.

“There has been a lot of research in the past about the big three health lifestyle protective factors, but we also wanted to look at those factors alongside broader social and psychological factors,” co-lead author and youth mental health researcher Dr Taliah Prince says.

“So, we also looked at things like social connectedness and mindfulness.”

The LABS study follows young people through adolescence with assessments roughly every four months. The students come in at roughly the age of 12 and then come in every four months across five years until just before they turn 18.

During those assessments, different things are tracked, including brain health, measured through MRI and EEG, and a cognitive assessment, but it largely involves self reports.

“What we found was that young people with more protective factors were more likely to report positive wellbeing and lower psychological distress at their next assessment,” Prince shares.

“Adolescence is a period of substantial brain development, emotional, social, psychological, and in terms of their brain health, systems involved in motivation, responding to social experiences are all changing alongside networks that support planning and regulating their responses.

“They’re becoming more independent, and I think what’s really important is that peer relationships and a sense of belonging take on particular importance for adolescents.

It’s a very valuable time to understand how these everyday experiences – sleep, food, activity, feeling connected, being present in daily life – and how these relate to mental health, the researcher says.

“And it’s also a really important period for learning and adaptability as well – and this really does create opportunities to support their wellbeing as these habits develop, I guess, transitioning from adolescence into adulthood.”

Alongside asking whether a student is sleeping or eating or being active, Dr Prince says it’s also worth asking whether they’re feeling included and connected, or if they’re experiencing the negative side of that, like social exclusion or bullying.

Schools are places where students are learning, they’re building relationships, they’re also moving and eating and experiencing belonging or exclusion.

Prince’s colleague Professor Daniel Hermens, a senior author and Professor of Youth Mental Health and Neurobiology, says their findings offer valuable insight into how to support adolescent mental health.

“Adolescence is a period of remarkable brain development, but it’s also when many challenges first emerge, making it a critical window for supporting lifelong mental health,” he says.

“Understanding the factors associated with positive wellbeing can help inform how we approach mental health promotion and prevention during these important years.”

Prince says for educators, the research gives them a useful reason to consider all of the contributing areas together. 

“So, alongside asking whether a student is sleeping or eating or being active, it’s also really worth asking whether they’re feeling included and connected, or if they’re experiencing the negative side of that, like social exclusion or bullying,” she explains.

“Because we know that these protective factors occur together. And obviously, that doesn’t tell us that improving one will automatically improve other, but it does suggest that looking only at one area may miss part of that picture.

“So, although we didn’t test particular school strategies, there are, I guess, some practical implications to consider.”

A good place to start is for schools to consider what they already do and ask whether everyday routines could be better supporting these areas.

“So, asking questions like, ‘are there accessible opportunities to be active, including for students who don’t enjoy competitive sport?’ Or ‘can students access healthy food and eat comfortably and mindfully throughout the day?’

“Or ‘do students have someone at school they feel comfortable approaching if these areas, like if they’re struggling in any of these areas?’ ‘Are the students who are present in the classroom feeling socially connected or socially disconnected?’ ‘Are there any programs that are helping us encourage mindfulness or being present in daily life?’

And before teachers yell ‘that sounds like more work!’ Prince says that shouldn’t be the case.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean adding any other wellbeing lessons – but some of the useful questions are really about the school environment and students’ experiences within it,” she says.

It does however, remain a difficult quandary for educators; they’re not trained medical professionals and so quite rightly are reticent to venture into specialist areas with no formal training.

In a disadvantaged school, or perhaps a regional school where there isn’t access to trained medical professionals, for teachers it’s a very tough predicament. 

“I think just learning and being educated around mental health is probably the best thing that teachers and educators can do,” Prince suggests.

“Having at least some knowledge and just being a safe person for young people to come to, because we know that is like so important for our young people.”

In a world where AI is a great unknown, questions of what jobs there will be in the future for young people coming through, with cost of living pressures, social media dangers and more, Prince remains nonetheless optimistic for teens’ mental health in the coming years and decades.

She believes there’ll be better supports, better awareness and better education provided.

“Well, that’s absolutely the hope,” she admits.

“That’s why we do research in this area - to make our young kids’ futures brighter, just to play our small part.

“Obviously, there’s so many different risks with AI and social media and all those things. But [these] also bring a lot of positive outcomes for young people in terms of how they connect with other people, how they get a lot of information.

“And the importance of some of these lifestyle protective factors are accessible online, so that’s really important.”

In the long run, she says, it’s really just about just getting a more holistic picture of how to best support wellbeing.

“And I think as we progress in research and as like educators and parents become more, I guess, upskilled in mental health, I can only see it getting better with the future. Well, that’s what I hope anyway.”