The big issues

Depressive and anxiety disorders are the two most prevalent types of mental health condition and the leading cause of global disability. The prevalence of both depression and anxiety is increasing in adolescents and young adults. Exercise is repeatedly shown to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Therefore, prescribing exercise could be an effective alternative (or adjunct) to treatment for the growing number of individuals presenting to university mental health services. In order for exercise to be maximally effective it is critical to understand the underlying mechanisms. 

Wearable technology is a novel and exciting approach that can be used to explore who benefits from exercise, why, and when using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and passive data collection methods. Recognising the potential for wearable technology to revolutionise this research field, we have conducted extensive public patient involvement and pilot work within a general population setting, using smart rings to passively detect physical activity and EMA to collect fluctuations in mental health.

This type of EMA and passive data collection has never been used in combination with an exercise intervention for depression and anxiety.   

Our response 

Our long-term aim is to improve individual-level efficacy of exercise interventions for depression and anxiety using wearable technology. In order to do this we need to first establish 1) the acceptability of these devices to individuals with current symptoms of depression and anxiety, and 2) their usability within an exercise intervention.  

Healthy Minds is an exercise intervention at the University of Bristol currently offered to students experiencing wellbeing concerns, including depression and anxiety. This programme is 12 weeks in duration, using a bespoke programme of physical activity to teach skills and tools needed to support and develop positive behaviour change for its participants.  

Smart rings are unobtrusive, easy to use, and promote inclusivity by making health monitoring accessible to a diverse population. Our pilot study in a general population sample found smart rings to be acceptable and feasible for collecting physical activity, sleep measures and heart rate, whilst concurrently monitoring depression, anxiety, and wellbeing, via our smartwatch EMA application.

This positions us to integrate these devices into Healthy Minds and assess acceptability and feasibility of wearable technology within this setting. If successful, we plan to increase the scale of this study and investigate different potential mechanisms linking exercise and mental health.