The time divide: Reducing the barrier of a lack of spare time increased physical activity levels during the UK Government-enforced COVID-19 lockdown

Background & Objective: Many individuals do not meet the World Health Organisation (2010) recommendations of 150 minutes of physical activity a week, often citing a lack of time as a key reason. The UK government-mandated lockdown for the global SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) pandemic provided an opportunity to investigate whether a potential increase in available time would lead to increased activity levels, and whether an increase in activity would correlate with improvements in mental health. Methods: An online survey investigated physical activity levels (time and intensity) at three separate intervals within one calendar year: firstly, for a typical week before the government-mandated lockdown; secondly, a week during lockdown (including measures of mental wellbeing); and finally in August 2020 - which re-assessed physical activity levels and mental wellbeing after the easing of some lockdown restrictions. Results: Whilst participants reported spending more time engaging in physical activity during lockdown compared to before (with those who perceived themselves to have more spare time reporting a greater increase than those who did not), there was no difference in the intensity of this activity. Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between physical activity levels and mental wellbeing during the initial period of lockdown. Conclusions: Overall, the study demonstrated that, as hypothesised by the COM-B model, reducing one of the most commonly reported barriers (time) did increase physical activity levels. Importantly, it also showed that those who engaged in more physical activity also reported better mental health, which is particularly striking given the likely overall detrimental effect of being in lockdown.