Purpose This study examined the effects of 4-week, daily 6-minute coordinated-bilateral physical activity (CBPA) breaks in classroom on attention and concentration in school-aged children. Methods Participants (n=116) in fifth grade from two elementary schools were assigned to three groups: two intervention groups (n= 60) and one control group (n = 56). All three groups were pre- and post-tested with the d2 Test of Attention (d2 test). One intervention group (n = 31) took part in six minutes of daily classroom-based coordinated-bilateral physical activity (CBPA) break for four weeks. Another intervention group (n = 29), the Fitbit Only (Fitbit-O), wore Fitbits per day during a school, five days per week for four weeks without CBPA breaks. A 2 × 3 ANOVA was conducted, followed by the post hoc comparisons. Results The CBPA showed significant increases in processing speed (F1 = 6.876, p = .010), focused attention (F1 = 10.688, p = .002), concentration performance (F1 = 26.46, p = .000), and attention span (F1 = 14.090, p = .000) over the control, but not in accuracy (Error %). The CBPA showed significant improvement in concentration performance (F1 = 24.162, p = .000) and attention span (F1 = 6.891, p = .011), compared to the Fitbit-O. No significant changes in all five attention parameters were found between the Fitbit-O and the control. Conclusion It was concluded that daily brief coordinated-bilateral activities can improve attention and concentration in fifth-grade students over the course of four weeks.

Background: This study examined the effects of a 4-week technology-enhanced physical activity (PA) interventions on students’ real-time daily PA and aerobic fitness levels. Methods: 116 fifth-graders were assigned to one intervention group (n = 31) participating in daily physical activity engaging the brain with Fitbit Challenge (PAEB-C), another intervention group (n = 29) wearing Fitbits only (Fitbit-O) daily, five days per week, or the comparison group (n = 56). Four-week real-time PA data were collected from the intervention students via Fitbase. Three groups were pre- and post-tested aerobic fitness. Results: The PAEB-C students showed significantly higher steps and minutes of being very active and fairly active (F = 7.999, p = 0.014, ŋ = 0.121; F = 5.667, p = 0.021, ŋ = 0.089; F = 10.572, p = 0.002, ŋ = 0.154) and lower minutes of being sedentary daily (F = 4.639, p = 0.035, ŋ = 0.074) than the Fitbit-O group. Both Fitbit groups exhibited significantly greater increases in aerobic fitness scores than the comparison group over time (F = 21.946, p = 0.001, ŋ = 0.303). Boys were more physically active and fit than girls. Conclusions: Technology-enhanced PA intervention was effective for improving real-time PA and aerobic fitness.

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properly cited.Purpose. This study examined the effects of 4-week, daily 6-minute coordinated-bilateral physical activity (CBPA) breaks in classroom on attention and concentration in school-aged children. Methods. Participants (n=116) in fifth grade from two elementary schools were assigned to three groups: two intervention groups (n= 60) and one control group (n = 56). All three groups were preand post-tested with the d2 Test of Attention (d2 test). One intervention group (n = 31) took part in six minutes of daily classroombased coordinated-bilateral physical activity (CBPA) break for four weeks. Another intervention group (n = 29), the Fitbit Only (Fitbit-O), wore Fitbits per day during a school, five days per week for four weeks without CBPA breaks. A 2 × 3 ANOVA was conducted, followed by the post hoc comparisons. Results. The CBPA showed significant increases in processing speed ( 1 = 6.876, p = .010), focused attention ( 1 = 10.688, p = .002), concentration performance ( 1 = 26.46, p = .000), and attention span ( 1 = 14.090, p = .000) over the control, but not in accuracy (Error %). The CBPA showed significant improvement in concentration performance ( 1 = 24.162, p = .000) and attention span ( 1 = 6.891, p = .011), compared to the Fitbit-O. No significant changes in all five attention parameters were found between the Fitbit-O and the control. Conclusion. It was concluded that daily brief coordinated-bilateral activities can improve attention and concentration in fifth-grade students over the course of four weeks.