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BACKGROUND: The increasing need to face the problem of sedentarism, especially in the COVID-19 era, induced teachers and researchers to find new intervention methodologies in school context. Active breaks (ABs) include brief periods of physical activity as a part of the curriculum. This study aimed to investigate the AB acute responses on attentive skills and mathematical performance and attention in a primary school. METHODS: A total of 141 children (aged 9.61 ± 0.82), divided into six classes, participated in this study. Each class was randomly assigned to three groups on the basis of the type of protocol performed during the three ABs scheduled in a school day: fitness (FIT), creativity (CREAT), and control group (CON). At baseline and at the end of interventions, all participants underwent the Stroop Color and Word test (SCWT) and the math test (MATH) to assess the level of attention and mathematical performance, respectively. The degree of enjoyment was evaluated through the modified Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. RESULTS: The factorial ANOVA showed significant differences between the FIT and CON in MATH test (p = 0.023) and SCWT (p = 0.034). CREAT and FIT groups showed higher degree of enjoyment than the CON (both ps < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a positive acute impact of AB interventions. FIT positively influenced attentive and math performances more than the CREAT, probably due to the correct work/rest ratio and executive rhythm that allowed children to reach a good level of exertion. This report showed that ABs can be a useful and productive activity to be performed between curricular lessons.

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This study tested the association between aerobic fitness and executive function and the impact of enhanced, cognitively challenging physical activity on executive function in overweight and lean children. Seventy children aged 9-10 years were assigned to either a 6-month enhanced physical education programme including cognitively demanding (open skill) activities or curricular physical education only. Pre- and post-intervention tests assessed aerobic capacity (Leger test) and two components of executive function: inhibition and working memory updating (random number generation task). Indices of inhibition and memory updating were compared in higher- and lower-fit children and intervention effects were evaluated as a function of physical activity programme (enhanced vs. curricular) and weight status (lean vs. overweight). Results showed better inhibition in higher- than lower-fit children, extending the existing evidence of the association between aerobic fitness and executive function to new aspects of children's inhibitory ability. Overweight children had more pronounced pre- to post-intervention improvements in inhibition than lean children only if involved in enhanced physical education. Such intervention effects were not mediated by aerobic fitness gains. Therefore, the cognitive and social interaction challenges inherent in open skill tasks, even though embedded in a low-dose physical activity programme, may represent an effective means to promote cognitive efficiency, especially in overweight children.

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BACKGROUND: Research on visual attention control of older road cyclists, who represent a subgroup of traffic participants, is still scarce and studies on their attentional performance while cycling are completely lacking. OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed whether attention control performance of older individuals with a history of participation in road cycling is affected by concomitant cycling exercise. Acute exercise effects were also analyzed in co-aged aerobically trained and sedentary noncyclists to assess whether the acute exercise-cognition relationship is moderated by individual differences induced by chronic sport practice versus sedentary lifestyle. METHODS: Sixteen 60- to 80-year-old cyclists and 32 age-matched noncyclists (16 endurance athletes and 16 sedentary individuals) performed a go/no-go reaction time task in which visual attention was cued by means of spatial cues of different sizes followed by compound stimuli with local and global target features. RESULTS: Older cyclists showed commonalities with and differences from other aerobically trained athletes. Both trained groups, when compared to sedentary individuals, showed shorter reaction time (RT) during physical exercise and a smaller RT disadvantage for unexpected local targets at short stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA). This expectancy-driven RT effect was stable across SOAs only in the case of cyclists. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that chronic long-term aerobic training may lead to favorable conditions for the occurrence of a facilitation effect during acute exercise and for a more efficient use of available resources on attentional tasks involving executive control. These results highlight the importance of considering the effects of aerobic exercise for supporting safe on-road behavior.

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