The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acute Pilates and plyometric exercise in a school-based setting on attention and mathematics test performance in high school students. Forty 10th-grade students (21 females and 19 males; age: [15.0 ± 0.5] years, body mass index: [21.4 ± 2.8] kg/m2) participated in this crossover and quasi-experimental study. In week 1, students were familiarized with the d2 test of attention and Pilates and plyometric exercises activities, and body composition measurements were taken. In both weeks 2 and 3, students completed the d2 test of attention and mathematics test with 20 questions following a single session of low-to-moderate-intensity exercise and a classroom-based non-exercise activity, in a non-randomized order. The exercise sessions included 30 mins of plyometric exercises for male students and Pilates exercise for female students, with intensities corresponding to 10-14 on the Borg rating of perceived exertion scale6-20. Compared to the non-exercise activity, a 30-min of Pilates and plyometric exercise resulted in significant improvements in attention score (mean difference [Δ] = 54.5 score; p < 0.001; Cohen's effect sizes [d] = 1.26) and concentration performance (Δ = 20.7 score; p = 0.003; d = 0.51). The students scored significantly higher on the mathematics test after participating in the exercise sessions compared to the non-exercise condition (Δ% = 11.7; p < 0.001; d = 0.76). There were no significant differences between genders (p > 0.05). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of acute light-to-moderate-intensity Pilates and plyometric exercises in school-based settings for improving attention and mathematics performance in adolescents.
Keywords: Adolescents; Attention; Mathematics; Pilates-based exercises; Plyometric exercises.
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