twenty weeks. At the end of the twenty weeks, which coincided with a particularly stressful time for the students—exams—the researchers had them wear monitors throughout their day-to-day activities to measure their heart-rate variability, which is a common indicator of physiological stress. As you might expect, the students who were enrolled in the running program showed more favorable heart-rate variability. Their bodies literally were not as stressed during exams. Perhaps instead of fighting the pressure surrounding exams, they were more accepting of it and thus less unsettled.
