Impact of Short Classroom Exercise Breaks on Learning, Creativity, and Emotional Wellbeing in 11- to 12-Year-Old Primary School Children

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating whether short 10-minute exercise breaks during the school day can improve thinking skills, creativity, and emotional wellbeing in primary school children aged 11 to 12 years. The study compares aerobic exercise, strength-based exercise, and a seated control activity to see how each affects attention, working memory, creativity, and emotional state after mentally demanding tasks. This research aims to find effective ways to include physical activity in classrooms to support learning and wellbeing. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups a control group that remains seated watching a low-demand silent video, a strength exercise group performing vigorous neuromuscular exercises following a Tabata format, or an aerobic exercise group doing moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercises with alternating upper and lower body movements. Each activity lasts about 10 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down, and is delivered via standardized instructional videos. Children will complete academic tasks before and assessments of cognitive function, creativity, and emotional state before and after the activity break. Physical fitness tests like strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition will also be conducted one week before the intervention. Researchers will measure outcomes such as self-perceived emotional state, executive function, and creativity throughout the morning, monitoring changes immediately after the breaks. The total participation involves baseline, pre-intervention, and post-intervention evaluations on a single study day.

Active Breaks and Executive Function in Scholars