Background: Recess provides many physical, mental, and social benefits for students; however, the most recent systematic review examining the benefits of recess was conducted over a decade ago. The purpose of this paper was to determine the current benefits of school recess by conducting an updated systematic review of the literature.
Methods: Multiple databases were systematically examined to find articles fitting the following inclusionary criteria: (a) school recess, (b) all schooling before college, and (c) recess benefits of any kind. Research was limited to literature published between June 2009 and July 2020.
Results: Nine studies were included in this review. The majority of studies examined elementary-aged students. Seven studies were conducted in the United States, and 2 studies were conducted internationally. Recess provided school-aged children academic and cognitive benefits, behavioral and emotional benefits, physical benefits, and social benefits.
Implications for school health policy, practice, and equity: Providing recess for all school levels positively impacts the whole child; there was no literature implicating negative impacts of recess.
Conclusions: Schools can improve overall student health and belonging by redesigning and/or implementing daily recess.
Keywords: child health; physical activity; recess; school policy; social-emotional learning.
© 2022 American School Health Association.