You are not alone if your mind begins to wander during a long meeting. A psychology professor at Ohio State, whose students were having trouble remaining engaged during an entire lecture, found a quick exercise break is just what is needed to regain focus during long periods of sitting.

Seeing his students start to drift off part of the way during his class, associate professor Scott Hayes wondered if there was something he could do to help them pay better attention to what he was saying. He had heard about a study involving a single lecture and was curious if it could work in a real-world setting with his class over the course of a full semester. What he discovered is the students reported positive impacts on their attention and motivation, engagement with their peers and course enjoyment.

"Nobody can stay on task for 80 minutes straight without their mind wandering and their attention waxing and waning," Hayes said. "If you give students a break and get their bodies moving for just a few minutes, it can help them get their minds back to the lecture and probably be more productive. I know it helps me, as well."

Hayes tested the theory in four of his own classes. He divided each class into small groups and each group was responsible for developing its own five-minute exercise session. Hayes reviewed the exercises to make sure they were safe for the students and then built in one-to-two breaks into his 80-minute lectures.

"I wanted the students to design and lead the sessions because I thought it would help them buy into the idea, and help with their engagement and investment," Hayes said.

He confessed the sessions were a bit awkward at the beginning of the semester because the students were not used to it and did not know how to act. But once they got the hang of it the students enjoyed themselves. Some exercises included jumping jacks, backpack lifting and stretches.

Hayes surveyed students about the exercise breaks and all said they had never taken a class with exercise breaks. He knew he was on to something when one student said, "I enjoyed the exercise breaks in class and really felt like they motivated me to focus more."

Other students said the breaks improved attention, were enjoyable and improved peer engagement. And most said they would like more classes to offer exercise breaks.

"Two colleagues in the psychology department here at Ohio State have told me they have started  exercise breaks in their courses," Hayes said. "It may be catching on."

Click here to read more in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.