Brain Breaks Go To College

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-301
Author(s):  
Kimberly E. Feiler

As health education specialists, we are called to practice what we promote. American adult physical activity levels are low, and too much time is spent sedentary. New habits can be learned early in adult life in the higher education setting. Most time students and faculty spend in higher education learning environments is spent while sedentary—this norm must change. Brain breaks in formal learning environments have worked well in K-12 schools; they can be incorporated into higher education in order to reengage students and improve their academic achievement. Brain Breaks are short (2-5 minutes), movement-based activities to break-up prolonged periods of sitting by students, thus increasing physical activity. Health and health-related college courses provide an ideal platform to begin adding back in brain breaks and active learning strategies where there has traditionally been little to none.

2014 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 247-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Cocca ◽  
Jarmo Liukkonen ◽  
Daniel Mayorga-Vega ◽  
Jesús Viciana-Ramírez

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Dawson ◽  
Melvyn Hillsdon ◽  
Irene Boller ◽  
Charlie Foster

The authors investigated whether low levels of walking among older adults in the UK were associated with demographic and health characteristics, as well as perceived environmental attributes. Survey data were obtained from self-administered standard questionnaires given to 680 people age 50+ (mean age 64.4 yr) attending nationally led walking schemes. Items concerned with demographic characteristics and perceived barriers to neighborhood walking were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Citing more than 1 environmental barrier to walking, versus not, was associated with significantly reduced levels of (leisure) walking (MET/hr) in the preceding week (Z = –2.35, p = .019), but physical activity levels overall did not differ significantly (Z = –0.71, p = .48). Citing a health-related barrier to walking significantly adversely affected overall physical activity levels (Z = –2.72, p = .006). The authors concluded that, among older people who favor walking, health problems might more seriously affect overall physical activity levels than perceived environmental barriers.


Author(s):  
Gina Tovine ◽  
April Fleetwood ◽  
Andrew Shepherd ◽  
Colton J. Tapoler ◽  
Richard Hartshorne ◽  
...  

While the growth of blended learning environments in higher education and non-educational settings has continued to increase in recent years, this has not been the case in K-12 settings. Recently, in an effort to explore the viability and effectiveness of K-12 blended learning environments, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) has been piloting blended learning communities in a number of their schools, providing opportunities to explore factors that influence the effectiveness of K-12 blended learning communities. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to report the results of a study designed to assess conditions that influence the effectiveness of K-12 blended learning communities, and to explore learner, instructor, course, and other factors important to successful blended learning communities. Findings will inform the design, development, and implementation of future K-12 blended teaching and learning environments in an effort to support and strengthen student achievement, the preparation of teachers to facilitate effective blended learning environments.


Author(s):  
Cassandra Louise Sligh Conway ◽  
Yvonne Sims ◽  
Audrey McCrary Quarles ◽  
Diane M. Burnette ◽  
Stanley Melton Harris ◽  
...  

Faculty's examination of virtual learning strategies to communicate with students is essential. Virtual learning is an innovative way to work with student s in higher education. The purpose of this effort is as follows: a) note strategies that can enhance the communication process with students and faculty during the virtual learning process; b) provide a review of contemporary research on virtual learning and activities; c) provide narratives from faculty in higher education that provide virtual learning environments and effective communication strategies to students. Authors from multiple disciplines provide their perceptions of virtual learning and some challenges or experiences in implementing activities to communicate with students in higher education. Their perception of using this type of learning with students is shared and common themes are discussed. In all efforts, there is a discussion of the benefits, purpose, and implications of this type of learning. Recommendations, strategies and future directions are presented.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e020659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich C Jassil ◽  
Alisia Carnemolla ◽  
Helen Kingett ◽  
Bruce Paton ◽  
Aidan G O’Keeffe ◽  
...  

IntroductionRoux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy are the two most common bariatric surgery performed in the UK that result in comparable weight loss and remission of obesity-associated comorbidities. However, there is a paucity of studies examining the impact of these procedures on body composition, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, physical function and strength, dietary intake, health-related quality of life and costs.Methods and analysisThe BARI-LIFESTYLE observational study is a 1-year prospective, longitudinal cohort study within a real-world routine clinical care setting aiming to recruit 100 patients with severe obesity undergoing either primary Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy from two bariatric centres in London, UK. Participants will be followed up four times during the study period; presurgery baseline (T0) and at 3 (T1), 6 (T2) and 12 months (T3) postsurgery. In addition to the standard follow-up investigations, assessments including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, bioelectric impedance analysis, 6 min walk test, sit-to-stand test and handgrip test will be undertaken together with completion of questionnaires. Physical activity levels and sedentary behaviour will be assessed using accelerometer, and dietary intake will be recorded using a 3-day food diary. Outcome measures will include body weight, body fat mass, lean muscle mass, bone mineral density, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, physical function and strength, dietary intake, health-related quality of life, remission of comorbidities, healthcare resource utilisation and costs.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been reviewed and given a favourable ethical opinion by London-Dulwich Research Ethics Committee (17/LO/0950). The results will be presented to stakeholder groups locally, nationally and internationally and published in peer-reviewed medical journals. The lay-person summary of the findings will be published on the Centre for Obesity Research, University College London website (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/obesity).


Lupus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 690-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Dassouki ◽  
F B Benatti ◽  
A J Pinto ◽  
H Roschel ◽  
F R Lima ◽  
...  

Objective The objectives of this paper are to objectively measure habitual physical activity levels in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) with mild disease activity and to determine to which extent it may be associated with physical capacity and function and clinical features. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 29 women with pSS were objectively assessed for habitual physical activity levels (using accelerometry) and compared with 20 healthy women (CTRL) frequency-matched for physical activity levels, age, body mass index, and body fat percentage with regard to physical capacity and function, fatigue, depression, pain, and health-related quality of life. Results pSS showed 8.5 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) when only MVPA accumulated in bouts ≥ 10 min was considered; when considering total MVPA (including bouts < 10 min), average levels were 26.3 min/day, with 62% of pSS patients achieving the recommendation (≥ 21.4 min/day). Moreover, pSS showed lower VO2peak, lower muscle strength and function, higher fatigue, and poorer health-related quality of life when compared with CTRL ( p < 0.05). These differences (except for aerobic capacity) were sustained even when only individuals achieving the minimum of 21.4 min/day of total MVPA in both groups were compared. Finally, MVPA time was significantly correlated with aerobic conditioning, whereas total counts and sedentary time were associated with lower-body muscle strength and the bodily-pain domain of SF-36 in patients with pSS. Conclusion When compared to physical activity-matched healthy controls, pSS patients showed reduced physical capacity and function, increased fatigue and pain, and reduced health-related quality of life. Except for aerobic conditioning, these differences were sustained when only more physically active participants were compared, indicating that minimum recommended levels of physical activity for the general population may not be sufficient to counteract pSS comorbidities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle R. Bouchard ◽  
Shaelyn Strachan ◽  
Leslie Johnson ◽  
Fiona Moola ◽  
Radhika Chitkara ◽  
...  

Objective:Our objective was to test the feasibility of sharing treadmill workstations among office workers to reduce time spent at low intensity and explore changes in health outcomes after a 3-month intervention.Methods:Twenty-two office workers were asked to walk 2 hours per shift on a shared treadmill workstation for 3 months. Physical activity levels (ie, low, light, moderate, and vigorous), health-related measures (eg, sleep, blood pressure), treadmill usage information, and questions regarding participants’ expectation and experiences were collected.Results:Physical activity time at low intensity during workdays was reduced by 20.1% (P = .007) in the 71% of participants completing the study. Participants were 70% confident that they would keep using the treadmill workstations. Interestingly, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and sleep quality scores were significantly improved (P < .05).Conclusions:The use of such equipment to replace a few hours of sitting is feasible and might offer important health benefits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niramayee V. Prabhu ◽  
Arun G. Maiya ◽  
Nivedita S. Prabhu

Background. Coronary revascularization procedures often cause lowered exercise capacity and declining physical activity levels. These outcomes are paramount in predicting morbidity and mortality after these procedures. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) focuses on incrementing cardiovascular endurance, exercise capacity, muscle strength, levels of physical activity, and quality of life through health education and lifestyle modification in post-coronary revascularization patients. Objective. To review the impact of cardiac rehabilitation on functional capacity, levels of physical activity, and health related quality of life in patients following coronary revascularization. Methods. A structured literature search in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and ProQuest for studies focused on CR and its effects on functional capacity, physical activity, and quality of life after coronary revascularization. Results. A total of 2,010 studies were retrieved. Deduplication and eligibility screening included 190 studies after the application of filters. A sum of 21 studies were considered for this review. Most studies reported that exercise and physical activity programs were centre-based and home-based and via telerehabilitation. Treadmill and cycle ergometry training with callisthenics and flexibility exercises in phase 2 CR exhibited significant improvement in functional capacity and physical activity levels in patients after coronary revascularization procedures. Conclusion. Although centre-based supervised CR programs do improve functional capacity after coronary revascularization, home-based or telerehabilitation-based CR programs are feasible, improve patient compliance in improving physical activity, and thereby increase functional capacity. Patient education improves levels of physical activity, health related quality of life, and adherence to home- and centre-based CR programs.


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