Immediate effect of exercise and music on attention among school-age youth: A comprehensive experimental study

OpenAlex · English

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Low attention level, especially in school-age children in preadolescence and adolescence, affects educational activities. The effects of different types of music and exercise on attention level have been an important subject of research for many years. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of aerobic and yoga exercise intervention program applied synchronously with different types of music on the attention level of primary 2 students studying. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 19 male (age = 12.63 ± 0.83 years, height = 145.78 ± 4.58 cm, weight = 47.73 ± 7.94 kg, body mass index = 22.43 ± 3.51 kg/m2), 27 female students (age = 12.40 ± 1.15 years, height = 141.03 ± 3.34 cm, weight = 42.14 ± 4.13 kg, body mass index = 21.15 ± 1.45 kg/m2) were included. Participants performed 3 different exercise programs (no exercise [NE], aerobic exercise [AE], and yoga exercise [YE]) without music (NM), listening to traditional music (TM), classical music, and current popular music (PM), after which participants' attention was analyzed using the Burdon Attention Test. RESULTS: In the NE group, participants' attentional levels were lower in the NM condition compared to TM and PM (P = .019, Δ = -7.86, Std. Err = 2.23; P = .001, Δ = -9.74, Std. Err = 2.22, respectively). During AE and YE, different music genres had no effect (P > .05). As a result of the post hoc analysis, the attention test results obtained from the NM and TM genres in the NE protocol were significantly lower than the attention test results obtained from all music genres during AE and YE (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the values obtained from NE-PM and the values obtained from AE and YE (P > .05). At the same time, attention test results did not change between AE and YE during any music genre. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, exercise and music are important elements to increase the attention level of school-age individuals. In addition, PM may be an important factor in increasing attention levels in these individuals.