Running to well-being: A comparative study on the impact of exercise on the physical and mental health of law and psychology students

Research indicates that, in comparison to other university students, law students are at greater risk of experiencing high levels of psychological distress. There is also a large body of literature supporting a general negative association between exercise and stress, anxiety and depression. However, we are not aware of any studies exploring the impact of exercise on the mental health of law students specifically. This article reports evidence of a negative association between exercise and psychological distress in 206 law and psychology students. Compared to psychology students, the law students not only reported greater psychological distress, but, in addition, there was a stronger association between their levels of distress and their levels of exercise. Based on the results of this study, we suggest a simple yet effective way law schools might support the mental health of their students.