Background College students juggle academic pressure, personal challenges, and athletic commitments simultaneously — a combination that makes stress management genuinely difficult. While sports are widely recommended for mental wellbeing, little attention has been paid to whether high-impact and low-impact sports affect stress differently.

Methodology 150 collegiate students aged 18–25 from the Moradabad region were equally divided into two groups — high-impact sport participants (football, basketball) and low-impact sport participants (swimming, yoga). Stress was measured using the validated College Student-Athletes' Life Stress Scale (CSALSS).

Results High-impact athletes recorded a mean stress score of 48.29, compared to just 35.63 among low-impact athletes — a clinically meaningful difference of nearly 13 points, confirmed as highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). Age and gender showed no meaningful influence on stress levels.

Discussion The intensity, competition, and injury risk inherent to high-impact sports appear to compound existing academic stress, whereas low-impact activities deliver exercise's neurobiological benefits without the added psychological burden.

Conclusion Sport type significantly shapes collegiate stress experience. Low-impact physical activity emerges as a more effective stress-reduction strategy for college students seeking relief through athletics.