Effect of classroom physical activity breaks on learning behaviors and academic achievements in university students: a systematic review.

IF 7.1 1区医学 Q1 NUTRITION & DIETETICS

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Pub Date : 2026-06-20 DOI:10.1186/s12966-026-01936-7

Qianting Deng, Chongyun Wu, Luodan Yang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: College students' prolonged sedentary behavior due to heavy academic burdens impairs cognitive functions and academic performance. Classroom physical activity breaks have been studied in younger students, but evidence among college students remains limited. This study aims to systematically evaluate the effects of classroom physical activity breaks on academic-related outcomes among college students, including classroom engagement, academic emotions, attention, and academic performance.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and ERIC (EBSCOhost), covering all publications up to May 2025, supplemented by manual search and citation tracking.

Results: A total of 5,813 records were initially identified, and 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, classroom physical activity breaks were positively associated with improvements in sustained attention, emotional engagement, and positive academic emotions. However, findings for selective attention, behavioral engagement, negative emotions, and academic performance were mixed or inconclusive, with several studies reporting non-significant effects and one study reporting a negative effect on selective attention.

Conclusions: Physical activity breaks in the classroom improved students' learning behaviors and may also contribute to enhanced academic outcomes. This study highlights that, provided teaching efficiency is not compromised, the integration of classroom physical activity breaks represents a viable and impactful educational intervention.

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课堂体育活动对大学生学习行为和学业成绩影响的系统评价

背景：由于繁重的学业负担，大学生长时间的久坐行为会损害认知功能和学习成绩。课堂体育活动的休息时间已经在低年级学生中进行了研究，但在大学生中的证据仍然有限。本研究旨在系统评估课堂体育活动休息对大学生学业相关成果的影响，包括课堂投入、学业情绪、注意力和学业成绩。方法：通过PubMed、Web of Science和ERIC （EBSCOhost）数据库进行全面的文献检索，检索截止到2025年5月的所有出版物，并辅以人工检索和引文跟踪。结果：最初共识别5813条记录，其中20项研究符合纳入标准。总体而言，课堂体育活动休息与持续注意力、情感投入和积极学术情绪的改善呈正相关。然而，选择性注意、行为参与、负面情绪和学习成绩的研究结果是混合的或不确定的，有几项研究报告了不显著的影响，一项研究报告了选择性注意的负面影响。结论：课堂上的体育活动可以改善学生的学习行为，也可能有助于提高学习成绩。本研究强调，在不影响教学效率的前提下，课堂体育活动休息时间的整合是一种可行且有效的教育干预。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 医学-生理学

CiteScore

13.80

自引率

3.40%

发文量

138

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal offering high quality articles, rapid publication and wide diffusion in the public domain. IJBNPA is devoted to furthering the understanding of the behavioral aspects of diet and physical activity and is unique in its inclusion of multiple levels of analysis, including populations, groups and individuals and its inclusion of epidemiology, and behavioral, theoretical and measurement research areas.