ENHANCING ATTENTION AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS THROUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BREAKS IN UNIVERSITY TEACHING

Alessandro Petrelli, Ilaria Pepe, Gianpiero Greco

Abstract


Physical activity breaks (PABs) are short movement periods integrated into pedagogical strategies to promote learning and cognitive engagement in educational settings. This study explored the impact of PABs, as teaching strategies, on attention and executive functions in university students. A total of 17 university students completed three 10-minute interventions after 2-hour lessons: No Physical Activity (NPAB), Outdoor PAB (OPAB), and Exergame PAB (PABEx). Attention and executive functions were assessed using the Stroop and Trail Making tests. OPAB and PABEx significantly improved cognitive performance compared to NPAB. These findings highlight the pedagogical value of PABs, suggesting that incorporating movement into lessons can enhance attention and executive functions, essential for academic performance. Implementing active teaching strategies such as PABs fosters a more engaging, dynamic, and cognitively stimulating learning environment.

Keywords


Outdoor physical activity; exergames; cognitive functions; university students.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v9i2.1361

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