Could Watching TV Be Good for You? Examining How Media Consumption Patterns Relate to Salivary Cortisol

Robin L. Nabi, Abby Prestin, Jiyeon So

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This research explores whether media diet influences health, not through its effects on cognition and behavior but rather through its effects on biomarkers of stress, which are implicated in a host of acute and chronic illnesses. Two hundred and forty young adults completed assessments of their media consumption habits followed at least 2 days later by measures of the stress-related hormone cortisol. Results suggest that frequency of consuming different media and genres may decrease cortisol under certain conditions and increase them under others. Further, the patterns of results were wholly different from those found for perceived stress. The implications of these findings for health-related media effects and theoretical development are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1345-1355
Number of pages11
JournalHealth Communication
Volume31
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Nov 1

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Health(social science)
  • Communication

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Could Watching TV Be Good for You? Examining How Media Consumption Patterns Relate to Salivary Cortisol'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this