The Benefits of School Recess: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND

Recess provides many physical, mental, and social benefits for students; however, the most recent systematic review examining the benefits of recess was conducted over a decade ago. The purpose of this paper was to determine the current benefits of school recess by conducting an updated systematic review of the literature.

METHODS

Multiple databases were systematically examined to find articles fitting the following inclusionary criteria: (a) school recess, (b) all schooling before college, and (c) recess benefits of any kind. Research was limited to literature published between June 2009 and July 2020.

RESULTS

Nine studies were included in this review. The majority of studies examined elementary-aged students. Seven studies were conducted in the United States, and 2 studies were conducted internationally. Recess provided school-aged children academic and cognitive benefits, behavioral and emotional benefits, physical benefits, and social benefits.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY: Providing recess for all school levels positively impacts the whole child; there was no literature implicating negative impacts of recess.

CONCLUSIONS

Schools can improve overall student health and belonging by redesigning and/or implementing daily recess.