A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acute Aerobic Exercise, Mindfulness Practices, Combined Mindfulness, and Exercise Training on Executive Functions in Fourth-Grade Female Students

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of aerobic exercise training, mindfulness and a combination of mindfulness and exercise training on the executive functions of fourth-grade female students. The method was semi-experimental, utilizing a pretest–posttest design with a control group. Subsequently, 18 30-minute training sessions were developed and implemented on intervals of every two days. The data were obtained through the Free Research Executive Function Evaluation (FREE) test. SPSS22 was employed to conduct multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) on the data. The results indicated that the inhibition of students in all three programs—aerobic exercise training (Eta=0.18), mindfulness (Eta=0.26), and combined mindfulness and exercise training (Eta=0.76)—is significantly different from that of the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, the shifting of students in the combined mindfulness and exercise training program is significantly different (Eta=0.56). However, the students who engaged in the combined mindfulness and exercise instruction outperformed the other groups. The findings suggest that the combination of aerobic exercise and mindfulness can be an effective strategy for enhancing the executive functions of fourth-grade female students.