Boosting Executive Function With Real-class Exercise

November 14, 2025 updated by: Liye Zou, Shenzhen University

Investigating Dual-Model Effects of Acute Pre-Class Physical Exercise on Inhibitory Control: A Cluster-Randomized Classroom Trial

The goal of this study is to examine the effects of acute pre-class physical exercise on executive function in real classroom settings. The main question it aims to answer is, "Does acute pre-class exercise enhance executive function compared to sedentary conditions?" Participants were students from primary school assigned by class to engage in one of several pre-class conditions: mentally passive sitting, mentally active sitting, 5-minute physical exercise, or 10-minute physical exercise. A cluster-randomized trial design was used to ensure ecological validity in authentic classroom environments. Cognitive tasks measuring inhibitory control were administered at baseline and pre-/post-class.

The results indicate that pre-class exercise leads to greater improvements in inhibitory control than sedentary conditions, suggesting that integrating brief exercise sessions before lessons may be an effective strategy to optimize learning in educational contexts.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

240

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 Contact

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • right-handed, had normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity, and normal color vision

Exclusion Criteria:

  • reported a history of cardiovascular, metabolic, gastrointestinal, neurological, or psychiatric disorders or conditions requiring medical attention.

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: mentally passive sedentary behavior
Active Comparator: mentally active sedentary behavior
Behavioral: Mentally active sitting
Participants remain seated for approximately 10 minutes before class while engaging in a cognitively stimulating activity designed to elicit mental effort without physical exertion.
Experimental: 5-minute physical exercise
Behavioral: 5-minute physical exercise
Participants remain seated quietly for approximately 5 minutes before class without performing any structured cognitive or physical tasks. Then they will have 5-minute physical exercise before class.
Experimental: 10-minute physical exercise
Behavioral: 10-minute physical exercise
Participants do 10-minute physical exercise before class.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Domain- specific Cognition
Time Frame: Measurements were taken at three time points: baseline (0:00), after the 10-minute intervention (0:15), and following the 40-minute class (0:60).
This indicator is measured using the computerized Children's Version of the math-related Negative Priming task. The underlying measures employed are task accuracy and reaction time, without involving any physiological measurements.
Measurements were taken at three time points: baseline (0:00), after the 10-minute intervention (0:15), and following the 40-minute class (0:60).
Domain-general Cognition
Time Frame: Measurements were taken at three time points: baseline (0:00), after the 10-minute intervention (0:15), and following the 40-minute class (0:60).
This indicator is measured using the computerized Children's Version of the Erikson Flanker task. The underlying measures employed are task accuracy and reaction time, without involving any physiological measurements.
Measurements were taken at three time points: baseline (0:00), after the 10-minute intervention (0:15), and following the 40-minute class (0:60).

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Shenzhen University

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 (Estimated)

December 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 17, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 16, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 13, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 14, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

November 17, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 17, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 14, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ShenzhenURealClassExercise

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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