title: Preferable forms of relaxation for health promotion, and the association between recreational activities and self-perceived health.
abstract: Little research has been done on the association between relaxation and health. In the present study, by conducting a nationwide cross-sectional survey, we aimed to obtain scientific data on the preferable forms of relaxation for health promotion, and to clarify the associations between specific recreational activities and self-perceived mental and physical health. We selected 4,000 households by stratified random sampling from across Japan in November 2009 and used the interview method to collect data (number of subjects: 2,206). The questionnaire contained items on sleep, recreation status, recreational activities, and self-perceived mental and physical health status. We obtained responses from 1,224 adults (response rate: 55.5%). Insufficient rest from sleep, short sleep duration (<6 h/day), ineffective use of free time, and less free time used for activities other than rest showed independent positive associations with poor mental and physical health. The results of the logistic regression analyses showed significantly low adjusted odds ratios with regard to the status of poor mental and physical health for outings/walking among men (0.33 [95% confidence interval; 0.16-0.68] and 0.49 [0.26-0.90], respectively), and for community activities among women (0.19 [0.04-0.79] and 0.27 [0.09-0.77], respectively). Relaxation for the promotion of health should include both passive relaxation (rest) and active relaxation (recreation). In addition, ensuring sufficient sleep duration is important for passive relaxation, and engaging in outings/walking for men and community activities for women are important for active relaxation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Showa University School of Medicine, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohtsu
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaneita
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aritake
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mishima
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: Tsuneto
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akashiba
authors.forename: Naohisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uchimura
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakaji
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Munezawa
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Akatsuki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kokaze
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011998:Recreation; D012649:Self Concept