Abstract
Reports on the relationship between the sleep/activity cycle and mental health exist. However, self-reported sleep/activity evaluations are ambiguous; thus, objective evaluations are needed. We objectively examined the relationships between sleep parameters, daily activity levels, and mental health outcomes among 81 Japanese adults. Each participant wore a Fitbit Sense 2 for five days to monitor daily activity and underwent one night of sleep electroencephalography. Distress, anxiety, depression, harm avoidance, and sleep symptoms were assessed using questionnaires. Sleep metrics included total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep efficiency (SE), and sleep stages. Subjective ratings of daily sleep-restorativeness were also collected. Longer SOL correlated with higher distress and life interference scores, whereas SE was negatively associated with distress interference. Decreased N2 sleep was linked to elevated anxiety and depression, while increased N3 sleep correlated with lower harm avoidance. A higher TST was associated with reduced insomnia severity. Vigorous activity was associated with lower harm-avoidance scores. Ratings of restorativeness were positively related to vigorous activity and mental health outcomes. These findings suggest associations between objective sleep metrics, physical activity, and mental health, which may inform future approaches to mental health assessment.
Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because we did not get consent to provide data to a public database but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by grants from the JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Number 23K10934), AMED (Grant Number JP24zf0127011), JST CREST (Grant Number JP23gm1910005), and Aichi Health Promotion Foundation.
Funding
The JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Number 23K10934), AMED (Grant Number JP24zf0127011), JST CREST (Grant Number JP23gm1910005), and Aichi Health Promotion Foundation.
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Authors S.M., K.I, K.N., and N.O. conceptualized the study. Authors S.M., K.I. and K.K. were involved in the data collection processes. Statistical analysis was done by S.M. and data interpretation was performed by S.M., K.I., K.K., H.F., N.K., N.O. and M.I. Writing of the initial draft was done by S.M. All the authors revised and approved the final draft.
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The experimental protocols were approved by the Nagoya University Ethics Review Committee (Approval No. 2010–0930) and conformed to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki (revised in Brazil, 2013). All participants agreed to the purpose and procedures of this study and provided written consent prior to participation. All participant data were anonymized before processing.
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Miyata, S., Iwamoto, K., Kawai, K. et al. Telemonitored sleep quality and daily activity are associated with mental health outcomes among Japanese workers. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38584-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38584-7
