Physical activity level as a differentiator of academic stress among university students

Aim: The demand from assignments and to pass lectures causes stress in university students. The stress that arises exposes students to academic stress conditions. The physical activity carried out by students has varying levels from low, moderate, to high. Physical activity has various health and psychological benefits. This study aimed to determine differences in academic stress in terms of level of physical activity carried out by university students. Methods: A total of 389 university students were involved in this study. The age range of 17–24 years. Data were obtained from the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and reported the number of days and duration of activities they spent studying or working, traveling, and recreational activities. All responses as to the duration were converted from hours into METs. Data on academic stress was obtained from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale. Statistical analysis using analysis of variance was performed using JASP for window version 14. Result: An assessment of physical activity shows that most participants had a low level of physical activity, namely 49.36%, 17.48 % had moderate, and 33.16 had a high level. According to the analysis of variance, results show that the F value is 8.251 with an ap value of 0.001. Conclusion: The study revealed a significant difference in academic stress among university students based on level physical activities. This research suggests the importance of promoting physical activities among students to manage stress and encourages further research to explore the underlying mechanisms and longitudinal dynamics.