{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T09:05:35Z","timestamp":1784624735830,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"PeerJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784592000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The aim was to examine how high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) differentially affect in-class attention among fifth-grade students, with the goal of informing evidence-based physical education curriculum design.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Seventy-two children aged 10\u201311 years were randomly assigned to three groups: HIIT, MICT, and a control group (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a024 each). The HIIT group completed a 6-week intervention with three 24-minute sessions per week (\u226585% maximum heart rate (HRmax)), while the MICT group performed continuous running at 60\u201369% HRmax at the same frequency. The control group maintained regular school activities. Exercise intensity was monitored using Polar heart rate sensors. Attention was assessed pre- and post-intervention via an intelligent video-based system analyzing four sub-indicators: head posture, gaze direction, eye openness, and facial detection, along with an overall attention score. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Both HIIT and MICT significantly improved the overall attention score (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0&lt;\u00a00.01). The HIIT group increased from 0.39\u00a0\u00b1\u00a00.08 to 0.70\u00a0\u00b1\u00a00.14 (a 79.5% improvement), while the MICT group rose from 0.38\u00a0\u00b1\u00a00.10 to 0.67\u00a0\u00b1\u00a00.12 (a 76.3% improvement). The HIIT group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement than the MICT group (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0&lt;\u00a00.01). The control group showed minor gains (31.0%;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0&lt;\u00a00.05). Sub-indicator analysis revealed that HIIT significantly enhanced head posture and gaze direction (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0&lt;\u00a00.01), while MICT primarily improved facial detection (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0&lt;\u00a00.01).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) demonstrated positive effects on the enhancement of children\u2019s overall in-class attention. Notably, HIIT demonstrated superior overall effects and produced significantly greater improvements across multiple attention sub-dimensions compared with MICT. These findings provide empirical support for the incorporation of HIIT into school-based physical education curricula as an effective strategy for enhancing students\u2019 cognitive performance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.21580","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T08:48:24Z","timestamp":1784623704000},"page":"e21580","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on classroom attention in fifth-grade students"],"prefix":"10.7717","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Zhao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education Institute, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an, Shaanxi, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenhua","family":"You","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education Institute, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an, Shaanxi, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dexin","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Competitive Sports, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuankun","family":"Long","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education Institute, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an, Shaanxi, 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