EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE BREAKS INTENSITY ON ATTENTION AND LEARNING IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING

Abstract

During a university lecture, students’ attention typically declines as the lecture progresses. Lapses in attention can interfere with learning and memory for the presented material to negatively impact a student’s overall academic performance. Prior research has shown that incorporating five-minute high-intensity exercise breaks during a university lecture improved student attention and comprehension compared to a computer break or no break. Although promising, high-intensity exercises may not be suitable for a university classroom. To improve feasibility for implementation, the current study aimed to determine whether reducing the intensity of the exercise breaks could still yield similar cognitive benefits. One hundred participants watched a 50-minute online lecture with no breaks (control; n = 25) or while intermittently taking exercise breaks of high (n = 26), medium (n = 26) or low intensity (n = 23). Attention was measured throughout the lecture and comprehension was measured after learning. The groups did not significantly differ on their ability to pay attention (Time 1: X2(2) = 3.61, p = .31; Time 2: X2(2) = 3.20, p = .36) or comprehend (F(1,93) = . 26, p = .6) the lecture material. However, when controlling for significant group differences in academic performance outside of the study (F(3, 113) = 3.52, p = .02) and baseline comprehension performance during the study, small positive improvements were observed on comprehension following an exercise break of all intensities (Cohen’s d < .67 and >.08), but with the largest effect size seen for high intensity exercise breaks towards the end of the lecture. These positive trends point to the benefit exercise breaks on learning in a university setting and establish the foundation for further research.