Attentiveness and Fidgeting While Using a Stand-Biased Desk in Elementary School Children. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Jun 04;17(11)
Date
06/10/2020Pubmed ID
32512690Pubmed Central ID
PMC7312723DOI
10.3390/ijerph17113976Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85086296596 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
Standing desks are a viable option to decrease sedentary time in the classroom. However, it is important that standing desks are not detrimental to classroom behavior or learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of stand-biased desks on fidgeting and attentiveness. Ninety-seven students in grades 3, 4, and 6 (ages 8-12 years) volunteered to participate in this study. The intervention employed a within-classroom crossover design, with teacher-determined allocation for seating within each classroom and included the replacement of one-half of the traditional sitting desks with stand-biased desks. Direct observation of student's attentive and fidgeting behaviors occurred at three assessment periods, at baseline when all students were in a sitting desk condition and at the end of each nine-week intervention. Stand-biased desks did not influence fidgeting behavior, but did have an impact on attentive behavior. Students that were less attentive at baseline had a 40-80% increase incidence rate in non-attentive behavior while in the traditional desk as compared to the stand-biased desk after the intervention. While fidgeting and non-attentive episodes (p = 0.034) were significantly related, the type of desk did not significantly moderate this relationship (p = 0.810). Standing desks can be incorporated into the classroom without negatively influencing classroom behavior.
Author List
Swartz AM, Tokarek NR, Strath SJ, Lisdahl KM, Cho CCAuthor
Nathan Tokarek in the CTSI department at Medical College of Wisconsin - CTSIMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ChildErgonomics
Female
Humans
Interior Design and Furnishings
Male
Schools
Students
Workplace
