For many university students, maintaining motivation can feel like an uphill struggle as academic pressure, stress, and mental health issues collide. New research suggests that a simple daily habit could make a meaningful difference, with regular running shown to improve both mental well-being and academic motivation over time. The findings were published in BMC Public Health.
The study followed 450 undergraduate students who took part in a structured daily running programme lasting four months. Rather than focusing on elite fitness, the intervention centred on moderate, accessible running that students could fit around their schedules. The aim was to understand how physical activity influences mental health and, in turn, students’ motivation to engage with their studies.
Researchers measured mental health and academic motivation at three points: before the programme began, halfway through, and at the end. Over the course of the study, students showed clear improvements in psychological well-being, alongside rising levels of motivation related to their academic work. The gains were not short-lived, with the strongest effects appearing by the end of the four-month period.
Mental health emerged as a key link between exercise and learning motivation. As students’ psychological well-being improved, so did their capacity to stay engaged with coursework, manage challenges, and sustain effort. This finding reinforces concerns that untreated stress and anxiety can quietly undermine academic progress, even when students appear outwardly capable.
Interestingly, the research found that extrinsic motivation, such as striving for grades, qualifications, or future career prospects, consistently remained stronger than intrinsic motivation, which reflects enjoyment and interest in learning itself. While both types of motivation increased, external drivers showed the largest gains following the running programme.
This pattern suggests that many students are primarily pushed forward by outcomes rather than curiosity or enjoyment. While this is not necessarily negative, the authors argue that relying too heavily on external pressure may carry long-term risks, particularly for mental health, if students feel constant performance demands without sufficient internal satisfaction.
The running programme was deliberately designed to support psychological needs such as autonomy, competence, and social connection. Students were allowed to choose their pace, track their own progress, and run alongside peers. These features likely contributed to the positive mental health outcomes, highlighting that how exercise is structured matters as much as the activity itself.
Although the study was conducted at a single university in China, the findings carry wider implications for higher education systems grappling with rising levels of student distress. Universities increasingly invest in counselling services, yet preventative approaches that integrate physical activity into daily routines may offer a complementary route to supporting student mental health and academic engagement.
The researchers note that running is particularly attractive as an intervention because it is low cost, easy to organise, and suitable for large student populations. However, they also caution that further research is needed to explore other forms of physical activity and to test similar programmes across different cultural and educational settings.
The study adds to growing evidence that mental health and academic success are deeply intertwined. By embedding regular, supportive physical activity into university life, institutions may be able to strengthen student resilience, reduce stress, and help learners stay motivated throughout their studies.