12 Weeks of Kindergarten-Based Yoga Practice Increases Visual Attention, Visual-Motor Precision and Decreases Behavior of Inattention and Hyperactivity in 5-Year-Old Children

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Sana Jarraya¹  Matthias Wagner²  Mohamed Jarraya¹  Florian A. Engel³ 

[1] Research Unit, High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax;Department of Sport Science, Bundeswehr University Munich;Department Movement and Training Science, Institute of Sport and Sport Science, Heidelberg University

关键词: behavior modification;    cognition;    executive functions;    preschool;    exercise intervention;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00796

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The present study assesses the impact of Kindergarten-based yoga on cognitive performance, visual-motor coordination, and behavior of inattention and hyperactivity in 5-year-old children. In this randomized controlled trial, 45 children (28 female; 17 male; 5.2 ± 0.4 years) participated. Over 12 weeks, 15 children performed Hatha-yoga twice a week for 30 min, another 15 children performed generic physical education (PE) twice a week for 30 min, and 15 children performed no kind of physical activities, serving as control group (CG). Prior to ( T 0 ) and after 12 weeks ( T 1 ), all participants completed Visual Attention and Visuomotor Precision subtests of Neuropsychological Evaluation Battery and teachers evaluated children’s behavior of inattention and hyperactivity with the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale-IV. At T 0 , no significant differences between groups appeared. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that following Bonferroni–Holm corrections yoga, in comparison to PE and CG, had a significant positive impact on the development on behavior of inattention and hyperactivity. Further, yoga has a significant positive impact on completion times in two visumotor precision tasks in comparison to PE. Finally, results indicate a significant positive effect of yoga on visual attention scores in comparison to CG. 12 weeks of Kindergarten-based yoga improves selected visual attention and visual-motor precision parameters and decreases behavior of inattention and hyperactivity in 5-year-old children. Consequently, yoga represents a sufficient and cost-benefit effective exercise which could enhance cognitive and behavioral factors relevant for learning and academic achievement among young children.

【 授权许可】

CC BY