Background/Purpose Previous research has substantiated that physical activity (PA), including physical education (PE), is associated with better cognitive and scholastic achievement. However, there is a lack of research examining the impact of active (PE) versus sedentary (no PE) school days on cognition. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of active versus sedentary school days on children's cognition and accumulated PA levels throughout the day.
Method Physical activity was recorded via Yamax SW-200 pedometers in approximately 65 sixth-grade children (34 girls, Mage = 11.4 ± .52). Height and weight data was gathered to calculate BMI (boys = 21.0 0 ± 4.4 kg/m2, girls = 20.3 ± 4.7 kg/m2, p > .05). Step-counts were assessed during waking hours across 6 segmented days, 3 of which included scheduled PE. On a PE and non PE day, students were administered tests of attention (d2 test) and cognition (Trail Making A & B).
Analysis/Results Boys accumulated significantly more steps than girls (~2585 steps), particularly during after school hours. PE did not significantly affect after-school PA, although it did increase in-school activity for both genders. PE had no significant influence on attention or cognition; however, a trend favors PE days.
Conclusions These findings add to the current body of evidence highlighting importance of daily PE for improving total daily PA. We found no evidence for an effect of PE on cognitive performance at the end of the school day; however, methodological limitations inherent to field research may have affected our results.