Acute Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition and Well-being in University Students (ActClass4Brain)

May 2, 2026 updated by: Maria Reyes Beltran Valls, Universitat Jaume I

Acute Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition and Well-being in University Students: ActClass4Brain Project

Previous studies in young adults have shown that physical activity can generate positive emotions and improve attention, among other cognitive functions. This highlights the importance of evaluating how physical activity can affect cognition and affective dimensions. However, to date, the dose of physical activity that could be most effective for these variables has not been established. This project aims to study the impact of acute physical activity on brain health in a university setting. Thus, this study will contribute to expand the current scientific literature on the acute effect of physical activity, a topic of great importance both in the educational field and from a public health point of view.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Students in the university stage face many changes in their lives. These changes, partly derived from academic activity, can cause alterations in their lifestyle and brain health (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning). Due to the negative association of several indicators of brain health with academic performance during the university stage, it is of interest to promote strategies that can favour it. Among them, previous studies in young adults have shown that physical activity can generate positive emotions and improve attention, among other cognitive functions. However, to date, the dose of physical activity (i.e., type, duration, and intensity) that could be most effective for these variables has not been established. Furthermore, previous studies in the matter have been carried out in laboratories and few investigations have analysed outside them the impact of acute physical activity on brain health in university classrooms. Therefore, expanding the current scientific literature on the acute effect of physical activity is of great importance in the educational field, since it would contribute to the design of active proposals aimed at improving brain health with positive implications for students' academic performance and quality of life.

Accordingly, this project aims to carry out an acute physical activity intervention with different intensities and active breaks with students from the Jaume I University (Castellon de la Plana, Spain). More precisely, a total of 210 students between 18 and 24 years old will participate in the intervention.

To achieve it, a randomized crossover study design will be carried out with the groups of participants compensated in terms of number and sex. Attention will be assessed using the d2-R questionnaire and emotional well-being will be assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule questionnaire. The tests evaluating attention and emotional well-being will be carried out before and after each condition. The experimental conditions will be: control group (quietly sitting), light intensity (40% VO2max), moderate intensity (63% VO2max), or vigorous intensity (100% VO2max) exercise, all lasting 16 minutes. In addition, an active break will be performed at the intensity of physical activity that proves to have the greatest benefits on cognition and well-being. It will include 12 blocks of 30 seconds of work, performing as many repetitions as possible, followed by 15 seconds of static rest. It will last last 9 minutes and will be conducted after a 2-hour lecture. During the active rest period, heart rate will be monitored using a heart rate monitor to register the intensity.

Taking into account that the lifestyle of students is mainly characterized by the accumulation of prolonged periods of sedentary activity, introducing physical activity in the classroom represents an interesting opportunity for intervention from both an educational and a public health point of view.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Castellón
      • Castellon, Castellón, Spain, 12071
        • University Jaume I

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Not to be diagnosed with psychological and/or cognitive alterations or pathologies that may limit the understanding and following of the instructions provided by another person.
  • Not to suffer physical alterations that may limit the practice of physical activity.
  • To be between 18 and 24 years old.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • To be diagnosed with psychological and/or cognitive alterations or pathologies that may limit the understanding and following of the instructions provided by another person.
  • To suffer physical alterations that may limit the practice of physical activity.
  • Not to be between 18 and 24 years old.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Acute physical activity
The participants in the experimental activity groups will perform an interval physical activity of different intensity for 16 minutes. The intensity will be controlled during the test by the monitorization of their heart rate using a heart rate monitor. Subsequently, participants will perform an active break in the classroom after finishing one of their usual theory sessions at the intensity of physical activity that proves to have the greatest benefits for cognition and well-being.
Behavioral: Acute physical activity

Regarding the first aim, participants will go through five different conditions using a within-participants cross-over design in a randomized order: control group (quietly sitting), light intensity (40% VO2max), moderate intensity (63% VO2max), or vigorous intensity (100% VO2max) exercise. All conditions will last 16 minutes and 15 seconds. The exercise conditions will be organized following an interval protocol, which includes 22 bouts of 30 seconds running at the established intensity with 15 seconds of passive rest between bouts.

In addition, to achieve the second aim, the active break will be designed taking into account the intensity of physical activity that proves to have the greatest benefits on cognition and well-being. It will include 12 blocks of 30 seconds of work, performing as many repetitions as possible, followed by 15 seconds of static rest. It will last last 9 minutes and will be conducted after a 2-hour lecture. During the active rest period, heart rate will be moni
No Intervention: Control
The control condition will consist in sitting in silence without any cognitive stimulation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Attention (cognition)
Time Frame: 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after the intervention protocol
The participants will take the d2-R test to measure their attention. The test shows different rows of randomly mixed letters from which the target symbol is a "d" with two dashes. The participants must select all the "d" with two dashes while ignoring all the other symbols.
10 minutes before and 10 minutes after the intervention protocol
Positive and negative affect (wellbeing)
Time Frame: 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after intervention protocol
In order to assess the positive and negative affect, the participants will take the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). It is a self-report measure that is made up of two mood scales, one measuring positive affect (the scores ranging from 10 to 50, with higher scores meaning better wellbeing) and the other measuring negative affect (the scores ranging from 10 to 50, with higher scores meaning worse wellbeing).
10 minutes before and 10 minutes after intervention protocol

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universitat Jaume I

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Maria Reyes Beltran Valls, PhD, Universitat Jaume I

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

March 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 22, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 4, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

December 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 2, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UJI-B2022-37
  • CIGE/2021/053 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Generalitat Valenciana)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The sharing of the data of the participants in the study with third parties is not foreseen or planned.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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