Study on fostering healthFrom Cube Ninja to City Hopper: Have Fun, Stay Fit While Studying

24 November 2025, by Anna Priebe

Photo: UHH/Lorf-Stahl

The movement games are available for use at home or in the lecture hall and can be tested at stations at 4 University locations.

Whether with someone else or alone, you can have fun, and for free, with the 8 movement games in the ExerRise project designed by researchers at the Institute of Human Movement Science and their project partners. The goal is to foster student health and wellbeing on a scientifically sound basis. The project games have been available online and on campus since November.

Between classes, term papers, and part-time jobs, students often lack the time to do something for body and soul. And yet studies show how important it is to maintain some balance to stay healthy and be able to work in the long term. “So we asked students themselves how they feel at the moment and what kind of movement offers they would like so they would use them regularly,” said Sarah Lorf-Stahl.

The researcher in the movement and training science research group is heading the study, which is currently being conducted as part of the ExerRise project in the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement. Based on the survey, the research group and its project partner ergofox GmbH developed and designed 8 digital movement games, which they are calling “Exergames.” Exergames are a combination of exercise and gaming, in which body movements steer the game activity. The videos have been available for free to students and staff since November should they want active, flexible breaks.

Making movement fun

“The people we surveyed wanted short, fun activities. We took that and gaming functions into account, for example levels with increasing difficulties, or a multiplayer function so that people could play together,” said Lorf-Stahl. Now the exergames need to be tested by as many students as possible.

They can do this for free at home or in the classroom, as well as at fixed stations at 4 University locations, whether or not they are taking part in the study, which focuses on the effects of the games and how they are received. One special focus is how different demands affect daily life for students: concretely, for students with and without a connection to the main Von-Melle-Park campus. This is why the project specifically targets the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences as well as the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement.

The goal is long-term implementation in student life

“We would like focus group interviews and surveys to help us find out to what extent students are using these games, how satisfied they are with them, what factors contribute to their success or act as barriers, and which health-boosting effects we can identify,” said Lorf-Stahl. The next would be to integrate the exergames permanently into students’ daily lives. “In the future, we can also see if this service could be introduced in other contexts, such as schools or rehabilitation centers,” said the head of the study.