Acute exercise significantly improves working memory in children and adolescents with a moderate effect size (SMD = −0.72)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr3·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i2 Acute exercises produce a significant moderate benefit for working memory in children and adolescents (SMD = −0.72). → Liu S 2020
Evidence¶
Liu S 2020¶
Liu S, Yu Q, Li Z, Cunha PM, Zhang Y, Kong Z, Lin W, Chen S and Cai Y (2020) Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Psychol. 11:554915. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.554915
q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r3
Meta-analysis of 22 studies (27 pairwise comparisons) of acute exercise effects on working memory, measured by digit span backward, Tower of London, and N-back tasks, showing "a significant benefit in favor of acu te exercises on working memory" with low heterogeneity (I2 = 10.9%).
"The aggregated result showed a significant benefit in favor of acu te exercises on working memory (SMD = − 0.72; 95% CI − 0.89 to − 0.56, I2 = 10.9%, p < 0.001)"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Exercise session time of 30 minutes or less yields a larger working memory effect than longer sessions in chronic exercise interventions
- Acute exercise significantly improves cognitive flexibility in children and adolescents with a small effect size (SMD = −0.34) — related
- Open-skill exercises yield larger executive function benefits than closed-skill exercises for inhibitory control and working memory — related
- Age moderates exercise effects in opposite directions: adolescents benefit more for inhibitory control, younger children more for working memory — related
- Chronic exercise significantly improves working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility in children and adolescents — related
- Acute exercise produces an overall small positive effect on cognition, with executive functions benefiting most and effects lasting up to two hours post-exercise — a broader claim this one bears on
- Acute exercise significantly improves inhibitory control in children and adolescents with a small effect size (SMD = −0.25) — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
acute-exercise-improves-working-memory-children |
title |
Acute exercise significantly improves working memory in children and adolescents with a moderate effect size (SMD = −0.72) |
description |
Acute exercise significantly improves working memory in children and adolescents with a moderate effect size (SMD = −0.72) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — liu-s-2020 |
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