The Effect Of 12 Weeks' Different Frequency Of Sports Game On Executive Function In Preschool Children

Objective:Executive functions are defined as the higher-order cognitive processes and can be divided into inhibition,working memory,and cognitive flexibility.EFs are important factors that affect preschool children's academic performances,emotions,and social functions.Indeed,EFs develop rapidly during the preschool period,and the development of EFs during early childhood is critical for achieving success in their current and later lives.Physical activity,a safe and low-cost way,has been proved to have a positive effect on executive function in previous studies.However,most studies are focused on children,adolescents and the elderly,the evidence is insufficient and contradictory for preschool children.In addition,although the researchers have explored the effects of different forms of physical activity,the frequency,intensity,delayed effect and other factors also needed to be discussed.In this study,12 weeks sports game was taken to explore the effect and delayed effect of sports game on executive function in preschool children.This research may help enrich the theory of physical activity and executive function,and accelerate the process of the best prescription to promote preschool children's executive function.Method:Healthy children aged 4-5 years in middle class were recruited form kindergarten at Yangpu District,Shanghai.Children with physical and/or mental impairments were excluded.After recruitment,all students were divided into two groups.In the next 12 weeks,they take sports game every week.Each session was 35 min in duration and consisted of(a)5 min of warm up designed to increase the heart rate,(b)25 min of sports game,and(c)5 min of cool down activity.In the intervention group,children took sports game courses three times a week,while children in the control group took once a week,the content and teachers were same in both groups.After 12 weeks,these children were followed up again.Executive functions were measured at pre-test,post-test and follow-up test.A questionnaire containing information about children's habit and family economic status was answered by parents.The SPSS24.0 was employed for statistical analysis.The repeated measurement ANOVA was used to analyze the difference between two groups and P<0.05 showed statistical significance.Result:1.The accuracy of fish test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.01),and there was interaction between time and group factors(P=0.012),suggesting that the trend of fish test accuracy with time was different in two groups.The accuracy of fishtest in preschool children taking part in sports games 3 times/week was better than 1time/week(P < 0.05).But there was no statistical difference between other time.2.The reaction time of fish test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.01).There was no significant difference between two groups(P=0.589).There was no interaction between time and group factors(P=0.135).3.The accuracy of n-back test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.01).There was no significant difference between two groups(P=0.443).There was no interaction between time and group factors(P=0.188).4.The reaction time of n-back test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.01),there was no significant difference between two groups(P=0.965),there was no interaction between time and group factors(P=0.296).5.The accuracy of DCCS test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.01).There was no significant difference between two groups(P=0.883).There was no interaction between time and group factors(P=0.476).6.The reaction time of DCCS test in preschool children improved significantly with time(P<0.05).There was no significant difference between two groups(P=0.469).There was no interaction between time and group factors(P=0.258).Conclusion:After 12 weeks sports game intervention,there was no significant difference between 3times/week and 1 time/week.Only increasing the number of sports games every week may not be enough to improve the executive function of preschool children.