SynthesisBMJ open2022
Acute effect of breaking up prolonged sitting on cognition: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of breaking up prolonged sitting with physical activity on executive function: a three-level meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating the methods used to examine sitting breaks and their influence on mental load, physical strain, and cognitive performance - a scoping review.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Physical Activity on Inhibitory Function in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Study on the influence of school active break on children's physical activity level and classroom on-task concentration.Frontiers in public health · 2026Trial
- Effects of Physical Exercise Breaks on Executive Function in a Simulated Classroom Setting: Uncovering a Window into the Brain.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Trial
- From Exercise Dose to Exercise Architecture: Lifestyle-Congruent Exercise Models for Contemporary Adults.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Acute Cognitive Effects of Brief Physical Activity Breaks After Lecture-Based Academic Activity in Undergraduate University Students: A Randomized Crossover Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exercise snacks and cognitive health in older adults: mechanisms, implementation, and public health relevance.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Interrupting sedentary behaviour in the workplace through active breaks: a protocol study.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond FITT: addressing density in understanding the dose-response relationships of physical activity with health-an example based on brain health.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Short bouts of accumulated exercise: Review and consensus statement on definition, efficacy, feasibility, practical applications, and future directions.Journal of sport and health science · 2025Article
- Causal effects of sedentary breaks on affective and cognitive parameters in daily life: a within-person encouragement design.Npj mental health research · 2024Article
- Associations between sedentary types, sedentary patterns and cognitive ability in preschool children.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
- A Scoping Review of Acute Sedentary Behaviour Studies of People with Spinal Cord Injury.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Breaking prolonged sitting increases 24-h physical activity and self-perceived energy levels but does not acutely affect cognition in healthy adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Workplace active breaks for university workers: the UNIFIT pilot study protocol.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Understanding university students' experiences of sitting while studying at home: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2024Article
- It's about timing: how density can benefit future research on the optimal dosage of acute physical exercise breaks in esports.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- The burden of prolonged sedentary behavior imposed by uberization.Sports medicine and health science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo review the current evidence on the acute effects of interrupting prolonged periods of sitting with intermittent physical activity (PA) on cognition in healthy populations.
designThis systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.
methodsStudies were included if they investigated the acute effects of taking regular PA breaks from sitting on cognition in healthy populations without any cardiovascular disease, history of brain injury, or psychiatric or neurological disorder. Four electronic databases-PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE and ProQuest-were searched for eligible studies on 20 September 2020. Study quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale.
resultsSeven studies, involving 168 participants aged between 18 and 80 years, were eligible for inclusion in this review. Three of the seven studies found positive effects of interrupting sitting with either (a) 3 min of relatively high-intensity (6 km/hour) walking every 30 min on attention and inhibitory control in young adults; (b) hourly breaks with progressively longer duration (10-30 min) of very light-intensity cycling/walking on attention, working memory and cognitive flexibility in adults with obesity; or (c) an initial bout of continuous moderate-intensity exercise, followed by interruption of post-exercise sitting with 3 min breaks of light-intensity walking (3.2 km/hour) every 30 min, on working memory in older adults with overweight.
conclusionGiven the limited evidence with mixed findings on this topic in the literature and the heterogeneity of PA protocols across the included studies, the results regarding the effectiveness of interrupting prolonged sitting with PA breaks in improving cognition warrant further verification. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020147536.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.