Want Better Test Scores? Try Jumping Jacks Beforehand, Study Says

Key TakeawaysA short bout of exercise might improve academic test scoresKids performed better on a test if they did high-intensity interval exercises immediately before, compared to restingBrain scans showed the kids were better able to focus and shrug off mistakes.THURSDAY, Aug. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Kids’ academic test scores might improve if they boost their brain power with some high-intensity exercise before picking up a pen, a new pilot study says.Children had significantly higher test scores after they spent nine minutes performing high-knee walking, jumping jacks, lunges and squats, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise.“Physical education and physical activity are good for our rising generation,” said lead researcher Eric Drollette, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “It’s good for mental health. It’s good for brain health. It’s good for academic achievement.”These better test results might arise because children who exercised were more capable of focusing and shrugging off mistakes, researchers said.In the study, researchers had 25 kids between 9 and 12 years of age take an academic test after performing high-intensity exercises or taking a seated rest break.“In the classroom, you have teachers that say, ‘Let’s take a movement break to get you focused again,’ ” Drollette said in a news release. “We know that’s the case anecdotally in the classroom, but we hadn’t put the science to it.”The high-intensity exercises were specifically geared to classrooms, with the kids performing each activity for 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of rest.“With earlier studies, we did 20 minutes of exercise on a treadmill – equipment not found in the classroom. A lot of studies have followed up like that,” Drollette said. “In this study, we wanted to replicate what could possibly be done in a classroom.”The children scored significantly better on a standardized test measuring verbal comprehension following high-intensity interval exercise, compared to when they rested, results show.Brain readings revealed that the children who performed the interval exercises also had lower levels of error-related negativity (ERN), a type of electrical brain activity that occurs when a person makes a mistake.High levels of ERN are associated with mental distraction because they show that people have become fixated on an error, reducing their focus and performance, researchers said.“With interval exercise, we actually see this decrease in this error-related response,” Drollette said. “This can be beneficial because it means that while a person made an error, the error itself is less salient, thus they are able to effectively respond to the error or mistake in a mentally healthy way.”Researchers plan to build on these findings by investigating how this error response might be connected to a child’s overall mental health.“This research provides us with valuable insights into the potential for a single short period of exercise to benefit children's cognitive performance,” senior researcher Jennifer Etnier, a professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said in a news release.“These findings may have important implications for teachers who are incorporating movement breaks into their classrooms and who might then see benefits to their students' academic performance,” Etnier said.More informationThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the health benefits of physical activity for children.SOURCE: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, news release, Aug. 11, 2025 .What This Means For YouTaking an exercise break before a test might help a person perform better, possibly by reducing their negative reaction to mistakes..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Want Better Test Scores? Try Jumping Jacks Beforehand, Study Says

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