All sources cited in the Exercise & Mental Health visual research essay, formatted in APA 7th edition.
American College Health Association. (2024). American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment III: Fall 2024 reference group executive summary. American College Health Association.
Big Stat #1 · Scrollytelling Baseline
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Early release of selected estimates based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (Data Brief). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Methodology · Key Finding
Chekroud, S. R., Gueorguieva, R., Zheutlin, A. B., Paulus, M., Krumholz, H. M., Krystal, J. H., & Chekroud, A. M. (2018). Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1.2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: A cross-sectional study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(9), 739–746.
Big Stat #2 · Framework
Dunn, A. L., Trivedi, M. H., Kampert, J. B., Clark, C. G., & Chambliss, H. O. (2005). Exercise treatment for depression: Efficacy and dose response. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 1–8.
Big Stat #3 · Dose-Response
Foroughi, A., Sadeghi, K., Parvizifard, A., Moghadam, A. P., Davarinejad, O., Farnia, V., & Azar, G. (2023). The effectiveness of physical activity on positive and negative affect and psychological well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1143756.
Annotated Bibliography · Study 1
Hu, X., & Liu, Y. (2025). The relationship between physical exercise and mental health among college students: The mediating roles of emotion regulation and self-efficacy. Journal of Affective Disorders. Advance online publication.
Annotated Bibliography · Study 3
Mikkelsen, K., Stojanovska, L., Polenakovic, M., Bosevski, M., & Apostolopoulos, V. (2017). Exercise and mental health. Maturitas, 106, 48–56.
Annotated Bibliography · Study 4 · Neurobiology
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Mental illness: Statistics. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 2026, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
Context · 36.2% Statistic
Noetel, M., Sanders, T., Gallardo-Gómez, D., Taylor, P., del Pozo Cruz, B., van den Hoek, D., Smith, J. J., Mahber, G., Riber, T., & Lonsdale, C. (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: Systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, 384, e075847.
Effect Sizes · 218 RCTs
[Author(s)]. (2023). Cortisol response to high-intensity interval training in young adults. PMC Endocrine Reviews. Big Stat #4 · Scrollytelling Study 1
Stults-Kolehmainen, M. A., & Sinha, R. (2014). The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Medicine, 44(1), 81–121.
Annotated Bibliography · Study 2 · Bidirectional
Szuhany, K. L., Bugatti, M., & Otto, M. W. (2015). A meta-analytic review of the effects of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 60, 56–64.
Scrollytelling Study 2 · BDNF
[Clemson University]. (n.d.). Effects of exercise type on perceived stress reduction among college students [Unpublished study/report]. Clemson University.
Scrollytelling Study 3 · Mood
[Author(s)]. (2022). The impact of exercise timing on sleep quality in young adults. Frontiers in Psychology. Big Stat #5 · Scrollytelling Study 4 · Sleep
This reference list accompanies the visual research essay How Regular Exercise Influences Mental Health & Stress Levels by Avertis Willis, David Onuoha, and Moriah Cavitt (2026). Citations marked with brackets indicate sources where full bibliographic details were unavailable at the time of compilation.