A new study published in PLOS One (2025) investigated the relationships between three key health behaviors—sleep quality, physical activity, and dietary choices—and psychological well-being among young adults ages 17–25.
The findings highlighted better sleep quality as the strongest predictor of well-being, followed by fruit and vegetable consumption.
Physical activity also emerged as a reliable predictor of well-being.
These data highlight the importance of the “big three” health behaviors in well-being among young adults.
The authors concluded that this study provides evidence that lifestyle choices are promising avenues for potential intervention to help young adults thrive.
Like the study we recently reported on examining the “big 3” health behaviors and adolescent well-being (https://preventionpluswellness.com/blogs/news/the-big-3-healthy-behaviors-for-youth-mental-health-wellbeing), this study further underscores the need for multi-health behavior interventions to improve the mental health of young people.
These studies suggest that prevention specialists should provide interventions and opportunities for youth to improve their “big 3” healthy lifestyle behaviors along with providing strategies to prevent substance use to enhance the broader mental health and well-being of young people.
Read the full report: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329689