Effects of repeated short exercise breaks on cognitive task performance, affect, and perceived stress in sedentary university students: a 12-week randomized controlled trial
Abstract
BackgroundEvidence remains inconclusive on whether repeated brief movement breaks improve cognition over time. Their potential relevance to university students’ wellbeing warrants longitudinal evaluation.PurposeThis study examined 12-week changes in cognitive-task performance, affect, and perceived stress among sedentary university students randomized to repeated exercise breaks or usual routine.MethodsThis two-arm randomized controlled trial included 120 university students aged 18–25 years, randomized to an exercise-break group (n = 60) or a usual-routine control group (n = 60) for 12 weeks. The intervention comprised three 5-min bouts of physical activity each weekday. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 6, and week 12 using the Stroop Color-Word Test, 2-back task, Trail Making Test (TMT), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Four participants discontinued intervention participation; 116 completed the intervention and formed the per-protocol (PP) sensitivity-analysis group. The primary intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis retained all 120 randomized participants in their assigned groups.ResultsThe primary ITT repeated-measures analyses showed group-by-time interactions for all six outcomes (all unadjusted p < 0.001). Because the six unadjusted p-values were reported only as thresholds, Holm-adjusted values are conservatively described as p < 0.006 rather than as exact adjusted p-values. The PP sensitivity analysis showed directionally consistent endpoint patterns among the 116 completers.ConclusionAmong university students in this 12-week study, the ITT repeated-measures analyses and PP sensitivity analysis were consistent with more favorable cognitive-task performance, affect, and perceived-stress scores in the exercise-break group than in the usual-routine control group. The study did not establish that total sitting exposure decreased or identify the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed differences.
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BibTeX
@article{sun2026effects,
title = {{Effects of repeated short exercise breaks on cognitive task performance, affect, and perceived stress in sedentary university students: a 12-week randomized controlled trial}},
author = {Chunyan Sun},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1961715},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1961715},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of repeated short exercise breaks on cognitive task performance, affect, and perceived stress in sedentary university students: a 12-week randomized controlled trial
AU - Chunyan Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/12
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1961715
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1961715
AB - BackgroundEvidence remains inconclusive on whether repeated brief movement breaks improve cognition over time. Their potential relevance to university students’ wellbeing warrants longitudinal evaluation.PurposeThis study examined 12-week changes in cognitive-task performance, affect, and perceived stress among sedentary university students randomized to repeated exercise breaks or usual routine.MethodsThis two-arm randomized controlled trial included 120 university students aged 18–25 years, randomized to an exercise-break group (n = 60) or a usual-routine control group (n = 60) for 12 weeks. The intervention comprised three 5-min bouts of physical activity each weekday. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 6, and week 12 using the Stroop Color-Word Test, 2-back task, Trail Making Test (TMT), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Four participants discontinued intervention participation; 116 completed the intervention and formed the per-protocol (PP) sensitivity-analysis group. The primary intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis retained all 120 randomized participants in their assigned groups.ResultsThe primary ITT repeated-measures analyses showed group-by-time interactions for all six outcomes (all unadjusted p < 0.001). Because the six unadjusted p-values were reported only as thresholds, Holm-adjusted values are conservatively described as p < 0.006 rather than as exact adjusted p-values. The PP sensitivity analysis showed directionally consistent endpoint patterns among the 116 completers.ConclusionAmong university students in this 12-week study, the ITT repeated-measures analyses and PP sensitivity analysis were consistent with more favorable cognitive-task performance, affect, and perceived-stress scores in the exercise-break group than in the usual-routine control group. The study did not establish that total sitting exposure decreased or identify the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed differences.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -