Change stresses us out
Emil may be fictional, but many feel the same way. “Around half of all first-year students suffer from stress,” Dr. Andreas Heißel says. “This often goes hand in hand with psychosomatic complaints and reduced vitality, and almost a third have already been diagnosed with a mental illness.” Heißel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Chair for Social and Preventive Medicine at the Department of Sports and Health Sciences at the University of Potsdam and conducts research on emotional health. “It is not uncommon for things to go downhill from there: Studies show that many people’s mental health deteriorates over the course of their studies. That should not happen.” That is why Heißel is collaborating with researchers from 30 countries to investigate the mental health of students – from the first semester to graduation. The UniLife-M study, which was launched in 2024, is intended to show connections between lifestyle behavior and mental well-being.
Enrolling in university turns your life upside down and brings many changes: a new city, new people, new tasks. We humans tend to cope with change rather poorly. From an evolutionary biology perspective, we often associate it with uncertainty and danger, it stresses us. Then we develop lifestyle habits that are often unhealthy – eating the wrong food, not sleeping very well, and consuming things that are not good for us. “We want to find out which factors cause some people to fall ill - and how these factors are connected,” Heißel explains. “If it turns out that certain combinations of factors increase the risk of mental illness more significantly than others, we could derive recommendations and measures that would help those affected.” But not only those people, the researcher explains. Conversely, it is also true that promoting positive lifestyle habits has a preventive effect against mental illnesses.
An effort that is well worth it. Because although mental illnesses are no longer as stigmatized as they were a few years ago, many still do not take them completely seriously. Around two-thirds of all people who have a diagnosed mental illness do not seek treatment. “There is a clear treatment plan for a broken leg,” Heißel explains. “It’s more complicated when it comes to depression.”
Finding out what makes you sick
This makes research such as the Uni-Life-M study all the more important because it shows the state of our mental balance and which factors have a major influence on it. In the study, which is led by the Brazilian scientist Prof. Felipe Schuch, students are surveyed four times over the course of their bachelor’s studies: at the beginning, after one year, two years, and after three and a half years, i.e., after graduation. With standardized questionnaires, they provide information about their psychological stress and lifestyle. By the beginning of 2025, more than 20,000 students from over 80 universities in more than 30 countries had already participated. In Germany, eleven universities are involved. “Thanks to the large number of participants, we hope to learn more about the effects of combinations of lifestyle factors,” Heißel says. It is quite likely that little sleep and exercise, in combination with poor nutrition, increases the risk of mental illness more than another mix of habits. Of course, the researchers also look at the subtle differences: Are there culturally determined behavioral patterns? Differences between men and women? Variations that are socially determined? A separate evaluation of the data from students at the University of Potsdam is planned as well. In the first step, however, the researchers are interested in what they all have in common. “If we find universal factors that apply to everyone, effective measures can be derived from them.” They will not only help those who are already affected but, above all, help prevent new cases.
Data collection is still ongoing, but the researchers believe that certain lifestyle factors are associated with better mental health. Promoting these also has a preventive effect against mental illnesses, Heißel explains. “A balanced diet, good sleep quality, and regular physical exercise, for example.” It is not at all about completing a very specific program. Whether yoga, endurance training, or weightlifting- virtually any sport, any form of exercise is helpful. In addition, we need to develop an awareness that our lifestyle consists of habits that are deeply rooted in our everyday lives. Once we have become accustomed to something, we will not be able to get rid of it so quickly: Changing a lifestyle that makes us sick is a great challenge. “We can do it if we keep reminding ourselves of this – and have someone who encourages us, so that we can set clear goals to establish new habits,” Heißel says. “A functioning social environment that supports us even in the event of setbacks is the most important thing!” If you have such an environment, you’re lucky. Like Emil.
Andreas Heißel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Chair for Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Potsdam.
Mental health counseling at the University of Potsdam:
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/feelgoodcampus/1/uebersicht
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/studium/advising-and-services/mental-health-counseling
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin/projects/soz-praev-med/PDFs/UniLife_M-Studie_Infosite_web_Uni-Potsdam_01.pdf
Vertrauenspersonen der Universität Potsdam:
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/discrimination-free-university/confidants
Nightline Potsdam:
https://nightline-potsdam.de/
Psychosoziale Beratung des Studierendenwerks West:Brandenburg:
https://www.stwwb.de/en/counselling-social/psychotherapeutic-counselling
This text was published in the university magazine Portal – One 2025 “Children” (PDF).