Acute Effects of Exercise Breaks on Attention and Working Memory During a University Lecture: A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Objective: This study investigated the acute effects of exercise breaks on attention and working memory during lectures among third-year physical therapy students.
Material and Methods: In total 65 participants were randomly assigned to exercise breaks (N=22), game breaks (N=21), and no breaks (N=22). The lecture was divided into two parts. Participants watched each part of a 50-minute computer-based video lecture. The present study examined the heart rate, perception, attention, and working memory impact of 5-minute breaks. The exercise breaks group performed a series of callisthenic exercises, the game breaks group played a computer game, and the no breaks group watched the entire lecture continuously without breaks. The differences in means for variables among each group were compared using a 3x2 repeated measure Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA).
Results: Exercise breaks during lectures facilitated a positive impact on the modulation of shifting working memory in comparison to game breaks and non-exercise breaks (p-value<0.05). Significant pre-test to post-test in shifting working memory improvements were found in the exercise breaks group (F(2,62)=4.266, p-value=0.018). The variation in mean shifting working memory was 12.1 percent of the effect (np2=0.121). This improvement aligned with better learning results, especially when assessed for immediate outcomes.
Conclusion: Exercise breaks during academic lectures demonstrated a statistically significant impact on shifting working memory. Consequently, further investigations are required to explore the enduring impacts of exercise breaks on cognitive functions in the long term. Additionally, determining the optimal duration of exercise breaks and lecture lengths is essential for guiding university teaching practices.
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