Classroom Movement Breaks and Physically Active Learning Are Feasible, Reduce Sedentary Behaviour and Fatigue, and May Increase Focus in University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Julia Lynch, Gráinne O’Donoghue and Casey L. Peiris
Additional contact information
Julia Lynch: School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
Gráinne O’Donoghue: UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Casey L. Peiris: School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: Background: University students are mostly sedentary in tertiary education settings which may be detrimental to their health and learning. This review aimed to examine the feasibility and efficacy of classroom movement breaks (CMB) and physically active learning (PAL) on physical and cognitive outcomes in university students in the tertiary setting. Methods: Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, and PubMed) were searched for articles published up until November 2021. Manual searching of reference lists and citation tracking were also completed. Two reviewers independently applied inclusion and exclusion criteria and completed quality assessment. Articles were included if they evaluated CMB or PAL interventions delivered to university students in a tertiary setting. Results: Of the 1691 articles identified, 14 studies with 5997 participants met the inclusion criteria. Average study quality scores were poor for both CMB and PAL studies. CMBs and PAL are feasible in the tertiary setting and increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour, increase wellbeing, and reduce fatigue in university students. In addition, CMBs increased student focus and attention in class and PAL had no detrimental effect on academic performance. Conclusions: University educators should feel confident in introducing CMB and/or PAL interventions into their classes to improve student health and wellbeing.

Keywords: exercise; mental fatigue; universities; tertiary; academic performance; college; attention; cognition; cognitive functions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7775/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7775/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7775-:d:847161

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().