Tracking Mental Health Through Movements

The Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program brings together student scholars and faculty mentors to pursue in-depth, faculty-led research across disciplines. The program provides students with the unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to active research and reflects the college’s commitment to experiential learning. This story explores a recent project.

With mental health concerns on the rise among college students, Christian Gurney ’26 decided to explore how everyday behaviors — such as scrolling on a phone or going for a walk — can shape emotional well-being. As part of his SURE project with Eduardo Fontes, professor of practice in health science, Gurney helped lead a study that uses smartphones to track digital and physical activity alongside mood data in real time.

For two weeks, college students participating in the study engage with a research app that monitors screen time, app usage and movement. In tandem, participants complete six daily surveys on their mood, social interactions, and lifestyle behaviors such as caffeine or alcohol use. The data is then analyzed using AI models — developed by Fontes and collaborators at Yale and Rutgers — to identify patterns that may predict or influence mental health outcomes.

“We’re trying to understand how physical activity might buffer against mental health issues and, on the flip side, how digital behavior — like high screen time — might increase susceptibility,” says Fontes. “It’s a powerful way to bring movement science, behavioral psychology and technology together.”

An Opportunity to Test Theory in Real World

For Gurney, who is majoring in biology and minoring in psychology, with plans to attend medical school, the project offered a chance to bridge those interests in a meaningful way. “This was an ideal opportunity for me to apply psychology research in a real-world setting,” he says. “You read about mood and behavior in textbooks, but seeing it play out in real data is something else entirely.”

The SURE program has also helped Gurney build a competitive academic resume. “I already had lab experience, but I really wanted to get psychology research under my belt,” he says. “Having a key role in something that might be published — that’s not something most undergraduates get. It’s huge, especially when applying to med school.”

Early results are still developing, but Gurney notes they’ve observed daily mood trends already. “We’re seeing that positive mood dips and negative mood rises around midafternoon. It’s interesting to note — and that’s just from the initial survey data alone,” he says.

As the project continues, Gurney is preparing to present at the annual conference of the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine’s New England in 2026, and potentially at a national conference. “It’s rare for undergrads to present at that level,” says Fontes. “But Christian is gaining the technical skills, the scientific mindset and the confidence to do just that.”