To work better at school, take active breaks

What if one of the keys to helping children concentrate better at school was to move? As the school year begins, this question, far from new, deserves to be revisited.

In many schools, teachers have already adopted active breaks, short physical exercise sessions integrated into the school day, with widely varying methods. Several studies have shown that this improves attention, other cognitive abilities, and ultimately academic performance.

A new study by a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) , published in July in Psychology of Sport & Exercise , looked at the effects of a single exercise session. Twenty-five children aged 9 to 12 participated in three nine-minute sessions, spaced about a week apart: one of high-intensity interval training (high knees, lunges, jump squats, etc.), one of moderate-intensity cycling, and one of seated rest (they watched a National Geographic video).

In practice, for the so-called "intensive" session, each exercise was performed in thirty-second active intervals with a heart rate higher than 90% of the usual maximum rate for the age in question, alternating with thirty seconds of rest. The result: a significant improvement in cognitive functions and verbal comprehension in these children, compared to "cycling" or "sitting" breaks.

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