Low-intensity exercise during university class significantly increases students' vigour during the lesson¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2022 · checked against its sources 2026-11-01 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Participants reported more vigour in exercise lessons than control lessons in linear mixed-effects models. → Ayame Tamura 2022

Evidence¶

Ayame Tamura 2022¶

Ayame Tamura, Kou Murayama, Ryo Ishii, Michiko Sakaki and Ayumi Tanaka. (2022). The effect of low-intensity exercise on emotional and cognitive engagement in the classroom. npj Science of Learning 7:9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-022-00125-y

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Linear mixed-effects analysis of within-subjects repeated assessments over nine lessons of one class, four exercise and five control, in a fixed alternating order the authors call pseudo-random (the same for every student, not randomly assigned); 445 exercise and 565 control observations from 114 undergraduates. The model showed a "significant positive effect on vigour" (B = 0.10, t = 3.85, P < 0.001). No standardised effect size is printed, so the size of the effect is coded unknown (i?), not null.

"The exercise intervention showed a significant positive effect on vigour, indicating participants felt more vigorous when they exercised during class than when they did a control activity ( B = 0.10, t = 3.85, P < 0.001)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Physical Well-Being — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Low-intensity exercise during class significantly decreases students' fatigue — related
• Exercise during class does not significantly affect depression, interest, sleep frequency, or mind-wandering — related
• Within a person, vigour correlates positively with interest and negatively with fatigue, depression, sleepiness, and mind-wandering — related
• Classroom physical activity increases children's on-task behaviour, with no consistent gain on attention or other cognitive tests — related
• Classroom physical activity breaks show strong evidence of improving emotional engagement in university students — related
• Evidence on negative academic emotions from classroom physical activity breaks is limited and inconsistent — related
• Classroom physical activity breaks show strong evidence of improving positive academic emotions in university students — related
• Classroom movement breaks increase vigour and concentration and decrease fatigue immediately after the break — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)