Boosting Executive Function With Real-class Exercise

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.

NCT Number	NCT07231536
Lead Sponsor	Shenzhen University
Conditions	Executive Functions (EF)
Enrollment	367 participants
Start Date	2025-11-24
Primary Completion	2025-12-26 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-12-26 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-08-11