The Acute Effects of Physical Exercise Breaks on Cognitive Function During Prolonged Sitting: A First Quantitative Evidence

Purpose This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to investigate the cognitive benefits of breaking up prolonged sitting (PS) by acute physical exercises (PE). Methods A systematic literature search was performed in six electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Library) to identify cross-over studies with a pre-posttest design that examined the effects of PE breaks during 3 to 5 h of prolonged sitting on cognitive performance. A meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model, with subgroup analyses investigating dose-response effects and differences between cognitive domains. Additionally, study quality was rated using the PEDro scale. Results Thirteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total of 295 participants (171 female and 124 male) were included in this systematic review. Thereof, nine studies were included in our meta-analysis. We observed that during PS, PE breaks did not improve overall cognitive performance (Hedges’ g=-0.043[-0.158,0.073]). There was no between-study heterogeneity indicated. This is further supported by the subgroup analyses showing no differences in effect sizes between cognitive domains and different exercise intensities. Conclusions Our findings suggest that interrupting PS by PE breaks neither improved, nor impaired cognitive performance. Consequently, PE breaks during PS allows to integrate regular physical activity in daily routines (i.e., through PE breaks) without compromising the performance of cognitively demanding tasks.