A comprehensive study of Chinese students highlights that the type of exercise, its social setting, and frequency significantly influence mental health improvements, with team sports showing notable advantages.
A large study of university and college students in China suggests that the mental health benefits of exercise may depend not just on how much people move, but on what they do. Researchers looking at 79,011 students in Jilin Province, all of whom said they exercised, found the clearest positive pattern among those who played team ball sports such as basketball, football and volleyball.
According to the study published in General Psychiatry, team sports were followed by individual anaerobic activities such as sprinting and weightlifting, then by two-player racket sports including badminton and tennis. Individual aerobic exercise came out less favourably in this comparison. But the differences were modest, and the lower ranking of walking, yoga and similar low-intensity activity should not be read as evidence that these forms of movement are harmful.
The research also suggests that timing matters. There was no single exercise formula that worked best for every activity or every mental health outcome. For depression and anxiety, the most favourable patterns often appeared at around three to four sessions a week, while sessions lasting roughly 90 to 120 minutes were often linked with better results. For team ball sports, however, a different pattern emerged: more frequent participation was associated with steadily lower odds across all six outcomes examined, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury.
The authors point to the social character of team sports as one possible explanation. Playing in a group can bring companionship, shared purpose and support as well as physical exertion. That view aligns with earlier research summarised by medical and academic sources, which has also found that team sports may offer stronger mental and social benefits than individual exercise. Still, because the Chinese study was cross-sectional, it cannot prove that one kind of exercise causes better mental health. It may also be that students who already feel better are more likely to choose certain activities. Even so, the message is straightforward: exercise is not one-size-fits-all, and the type of activity, its social setting and the amount of time spent doing it may all matter.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
