Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2025
Effects of physically active lessons and active breaks on cognitive performance and health indicators in elementary school children: a cluster randomized trial.
Trial report in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of active breaks on attention and executive function in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Physically Active Learning (PAL) Interventions on Physical Fitness, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior in Primary School Children: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Voices on a multicomponent school-based physical activity intervention: a qualitative study with school leaders, teachers, and students from the MOVESCHOOL study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Enhancing Physical Literacy Domains Through the Spectrum of Teaching Styles in Recess-Based Active Breaks: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Active Breaks Enhance Complex Processing Speed, Math Performance, and Physical Activity in Primary School Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis cluster-randomized trial examined the effects of active breaks (AB) and physically active lessons (PAL) on cognitive function and health indicators in elementary school children.
methodsSix schools were randomly assigned to three groups: AB group (n = 61), PAL group (n = 77), and a control group (CTL, n = 46). First-year elementary school students participated (6.9 ± 0.6 years; 52.7% girls), and the interventions lasted eight weeks. Cognitive function was measured via reaction time and correct responses on computerized tests (Go/NoGo, DigitSpan, Mental Rotation, Visual Search, and Cueing Posner). Secondary outcomes included physical activity, quality of life, daytime sleepiness, and school perception.
resultsSignificant group-by-time interactions were found in four tests: Go/NoGo (reaction time: p = 0.045), DigitSpan (correct responses: p = 0.020), Mental Rotation (reaction time: p = 0.049), and Cueing Posner (reaction time: p = 0.017). Only the PAL group presented a reduction in reaction time in inhibitory control (Go/NoGo) (change from baseline [Δ] = -106.4 ms; p < 0.001; d = 0.50), with a greater reduction than the AB group (difference-in-differences [DiD] = -107.3 ms; p = 0.019; d = 0.47). Short-term memory (Digit Span) improved only in the PAL group (Δ = + 0.6; p < 0.001; d = 0.44), with larger gains than the CTL group (DiD = + 0.7; p = 0.024; d = 0.54) and AB group (DiD = + 0.7; p = 0.010; d = 0.49). Spatial reasoning (Mental Rotation) improved in both the PAL (Δ = -1967.5 ms; p < 0.001; d = 0.72) and AB groups (Δ = -1477.8 ms; p < 0.001; d = 0.54), but only the PAL group showed a greater change than the CTL group (DiD = -1394.0 ms; p = 0.012; d = 0.54). Spatial orientation (Posner Cueing) improved in all groups (PAL group: Δ = -386.6 ms; p < 0.001; d = 0.68; CTL group: Δ = -183.8 ms; p = 0.024; d = 0.29; AB group: Δ = -158.4 ms; p = 0.007; d = 0.36), with the PAL group presenting greater reductions than the CTL (DiD = -202.8 ms; p = 0.045; d = 0.33) and AB groups (DiD = -228.2 ms; p = 0.007; d = 0.45).
conclusionsPhysically active lessons enhanced various cognitive functions, while active breaks, although less impactful, also represent a beneficial strategy.
trial registrationBrazilian Clinical Trials Registry (REBEC trial: RBR-10zxwdrh, retrospectively registered on 2025-01-09, https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-10zxwdrh ).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.