Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in Laboratory Settings: The Break4Brain Project

Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in Children With and Without ADHD: The Break4Brain Project

Advancement in teaching methods, together with the frenetic change in the lifestyles of the school population, provides a unique opportunity to advance scientific knowledge. The current project, called "The Break4Brain Project", aims to examine the acute (transient) effects of physical activity on brain function, cognition, and academic performance in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Specifically, a total of 60 children between 10 and 12 years old will be included with (n=30) and without (n=30) ADHD. The study will use an intra-subject design of isolated conditions with four measurement moments where the children will perform three different experimental conditions lasting 10 minutes, which will be randomized in a counterbalanced manner. These experimental conditions will be based on physical activity engaging cognitively, physical activity without engaging cognitively, and cognitively engaging control condition. This project could have a significant impact in the educational field, since, if brain function, cognition, and academic performance prove to be favorably stimulated, acutely, by physical activity through active breaks, these could be prescribed as an effective teaching strategy for children with and without ADHD in the school setting.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: ADHD
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Physical activity with engaging cognitively; Behavioral: Physical activity without engaging cognitively

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Balearic Islands
    • Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain, 07122
      • University of the Balearic Islands

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children aged 10-12 years diagnosed with ADHD by a recognized diagnostic procedure.
• Children aged 10-12 years without any neurodevelopmental impairment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children who have serious physical or mental disorders.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Physical activity with engaging cognitively; This experimental condition involves engaging in physical activity interspersed with rest periods based on cognitive tasks.	Behavioral: Physical activity with engaging cognitively; This experimental condition will follow the following structure: involving 10 consecutive, 30 second-blocks of physical activity. This experimental condition will focus on aerobic metabolism. The total exercise time commitment is 10 minutes (30 seconds of working - 30 seconds of executing an engaging cognitive task, 1:1 work-to-rest ratio), plus 5 minutes of warm-ups and 5 minutes of cool-down activities. The cognitive task consists of solving various "tangrams".
Experimental: Physical activity without engaging cognitively; This experimental condition involves engaging in physical activity interspersed with rest periods (without cognitive tasks).	Behavioral: Physical activity without engaging cognitively; This experimental condition will replicate the structure of the preceding one. Participants will engage in physical activity, guided by video observation and imitation. However, during the rest periods, they will refrain from engaging in cognitive tasks
No Intervention: Cognitively engaging control conditions; In this condition, participants will be suggested to watch a video while seating/resting for 10 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Academic achievement	In this research, only the general academic fluency index was administered, consisting of the reading, mathematics, and writing fluency subtests. Reading fluency assessed the participant's capacity to read simple sentences rapidly, mathematical fluency gauged the ability to quickly solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems, and writing fluency measured the skill to formulate and write sentences promptly.	4 times (during 4 weeks)
Inhibition	Flanker Test: Assessed inhibitory control of irrelevant stimuli. Congruent stimuli facilitated processing, while incongruent ones hindered it.	4 times (during 4 weeks)
Working memory	n-back Test: Evaluated working memory's information updating. Participants matched stimuli to the one 'n' items ago, with increasing difficulty.	4 times (during 4 weeks)
Sustained attention	Conners CPT-3 Attention Test: Examined sustained attention with 360 trials, 18 blocks, and varying intervals. 90% featured non-X target stimuli. Assessment included scaled scores for attentional capacity (d'), error categorization, and reaction metrics.	4 times (during 4 weeks)
Brain function	Event-related brain potentials (ERPs), acquired from the electroencephalogram, served as a metric for brain response to discrete events. Neuroelectric activity was captured from 14 scalp electrode sites, arranged using the EMOTIV EPOC X and its corresponding software. Selected components of event-related brain potentials were assessed, with a focus on analyzing the amplitude and latency of P3 (also referred to as P300). A higher P3 amplitude was considered indicative of an enhanced ability to enlist attentional resources, while a lower P3 latency was considered indicative of heightened cognitive processing speed. In study I, ERPs were concurrently recorded during cognitive function (not CPT-3).	4 times (during 4 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical fitness and body composition	Were measured using the ALPHA Physical Fitness Test Battery.	baseline
Physical activity levels and sleep	Were assessed using Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers, which participants carried throughout their four-week involvement in the project. Additionally, sedentary lifestyle levels were gauged using the Youth Activity Profile (YAP).	baseline
Self-reported sedentary patterns	Sedentary lifestyle levels were also gauged using the Youth Activity Profile (YAP).	baseline
Motor proficiency	Was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency.	baseline
Biological maturation	Was measured using maximum height velocity (PHV), an indicator reflecting the peak velocity of height growth during childhood. Weight, height, and sitting height were utilized to calculate VPM based on Moore's equations.	baseline
ADHD symptoms	Was evaluated utilizing the Conners Scales 3-Parent Version.	baseline
IQ	Was assessed using the Kaufmann Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT).	baseline
Socioeconomic levels	The parents' socioeconomic status was determined using the Family Affluence Scale-II.	baseline
Educational levels	The parents' educational level was determined using a custom questionnaire.	baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of the Balearic Islands
• Collaborators: European Regional Development Fund; Spanish State Research Agency; Ministry of Science and Innovation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Adrià Muntaner-Mas, PhD, University of the Balearic Islands

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 27, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 1, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 12, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 12, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: exercise; executive function; brain function; academic performance; brain breaks
• Other Study ID Numbers: 301CER22; PID2021-123357OA-I00 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Ministry of Science and Innovation - Spanish State Research Agency - European Regional Development Fund)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No