If you think you're pretty healthy, but spend your nights binge-watching Netflix into the wee hours, maybe with a bit of chocolate while scrolling social media on your phone, you could be in for a shock when the new healthy lifestyle guidelines come out.
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For the first time, the Australian Government is planning to advise adults how much screen time they should have each day, in recognition of the pervasive role phones, streaming services and social media now play in many people's daily lives.
A team from the University of Wollongong will develop the new guidelines over the next 18 months, and will also look at how much sleep, movement and exercise people need to get over a 24 hour period for good mental and physical health.
Led by Distinguished Professor Anthony Okely and Dr Monique Francois, the research will update 10 year old Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines, taking into account the huge technological changes in that period.
Prof Okely said this would bring Australia in line with countries like Canada, which recommends adults get no more than three hours of recreational screen time each day.
"There is good evidence that too much screen time is strongly associated with a range of adverse health outcomes," he said.
"Most of the time you're engaged in recreational screen use, you're sitting down so you're expending very little energy.
"You may also be snacking while you're doing that - and that most likely would be snacking with unhealthy food - and you're also exposed, depending on what you're viewing, to marketing around unhealthy products there as well.
"So we're fairly confident that we'll be able to make some evidence based recommendations around recreational screen time, sedentary screen time for adults and older adults and a recommendation to try and limit that across a day to a certain degree."
Currently, the guidelines advise mainly on physical activity, saying adults should be active most days, and preferably every day, doing 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity - like a walk, golf, mowing the lawn or swimming - or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous activity like jogging, aerobics, fast cycling, soccer or netball.
However Prof Okely said it made more sense to consider all activity - including sleep - as they were all connected in determining someone's health outcomes.
"You could have somebody that meets the physical activity guidelines and it's good for their health, but they can undo some of those health benefits if they don't get enough sleep because they're spending too much time engaged with recreational screens or electronic media devices," he said.
"These behaviours are interrelated, they're codependent - so it's thinking about them more holistically. We want people to think about putting together your best day - and a best day is more than just physical activity."
He said technological changes - and the increase in working from home after the pandemic - may be making it harder for people to have a healthy lifestyle these days.
"I do think we need to work a little bit harder because those competing demands, particularly on our leisure time, do make it a bit more of a challenge to get enough sleep and to limit our screen time to what we think is a healthy level," he said.
"Homes have a greater number of screen based devices in them now, whether that be televisions, tablets, smartphones and that presents a much greater competing demand on leisure time.
"And I think COVID has also meant that we're coming out of a stage now where we spent a lot more time at home and generally speaking, when we're at home, we tend to be more sedentary compared with when we're outdoors and in the community.
"We know that if people work from home, they will typically do less steps in the day compared with, if they have to physically go to an office."
He said people's sleep - both the amount and the quality - was also suffering because of the "pull" technology had on people's leisure time.
"So we know that there's an optimal amount of sleep - it's a range and some people need more or less sleep, but for adults we're thinking it's around 7 to 9 hours," he said.
"But one of the biggest challenges to a consistent bedtime, which allows you to get enough sleep, is whether or not you engage with screens before you go to bed, whether you have a screen device in the bedroom, whether you look at it before you go to sleep.
"The blue light that comes from those screens, and the effect that that has on the brain can actually result in affecting the deep sleep or the REM sleep that you would get and the quality of that sleep."
The guidelines will be developed for people aged 18-64 and those aged 65 and over, with co-lead researcher Dr Francois saying there will be a particular focus on adults living with disability and chronic conditions and priority populations, such as First Nations people and postpartum women.
UOW researchers have worked with the Department of Health to lead the development of five sets of national guidelines in the past, including the current 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years, and the guidelines for children and young people.
"Good health and good habits do not end at a certain age, so we are looking forward to create a set of 24-hour guidelines that take into account the needs of our modern society and will provide a fundamental framework for all Australians of all ages," Prof Okely said.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
