Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in Laboratory Settings: The Break4Brain Project

Summary

Advancement in teaching methods, together with the frenetic change in the lifestyles of the school population, provides a unique opportunity to advance scientific knowledge. The current project, called "The Break4Brain Project", aims to examine the acute (transient) effects of physical activity on brain function, cognition, and academic performance in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Specifically, a total of 60 children between 10 and 12 years old will be included with (n=30) and without (n=30) ADHD. The study will use an intra-subject design of isolated conditions with four measurement moments where the children will perform three different experimental conditions lasting 10 minutes, which will be randomized in a counterbalanced manner. These experimental conditions will be based on physical activity engaging cognitively, physical activity without engaging cognitively, and cognitively engaging control condition. This project could have a significant impact in the educational field, since, if brain function, cognition, and academic performance prove to be favorably stimulated, acutely, by physical activity through active breaks, these could be prescribed as an effective teaching strategy for children with and without ADHD in the school setting.

Conditions

• ADHD

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Physical activity with engaging cognitively

This experimental condition will follow the following structure: involving 10 consecutive, 30 second-blocks of physical activity. This experimental condition will focus on aerobic metabolism. The total exercise time commitment is 10 minutes (30 seconds of working - 30 seconds of executing an engaging cognitive task, 1:1 work-to-rest ratio), plus 5 minutes of warm-ups and 5 minutes of cool-down activities. The cognitive task consists of solving various "tangrams".

BEHAVIORAL

Physical activity without engaging cognitively

This experimental condition will replicate the structure of the preceding one. Participants will engage in physical activity, guided by video observation and imitation. However, during the rest periods, they will refrain from engaging in cognitive tasks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• European Regional Development Fund

  collaborator OTHER

• State Research Agency, Spain

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of the Balearic Islands

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Adrià Muntaner-Mas, PhD · University of the Balearic Islands

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

10 Years

Max Age

12 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-02-27

Primary Completion

2024-07-31

Completion

2025-09-30

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations