The Impact of Recess on Chronic Stress Levels in Elementary School Children.

BACKGROUND

Over the last 30 years, stress and anxiety in children have risen exponentially, especially as a result of school expectations. As no studies have examined the effect of increased outdoor recess on children's chronic stress levels, this preliminary work focused on comparing hair cortisol concentration (HCC) scores of elementary children who received varied amounts of daily recess.

METHODS

HCC scores were collected from 4th grade elementary children (N = 130) from three intervention schools (45 min daily recess) (N = 64; M = 35; F = 29) and three control schools (30 min daily recess) (N = 66; M = 31; F = 35).

RESULTS

A two-way ANOVA, F(1, 123) = 5.47, = 0.021, ω = 0.034, showed that the intervention group reflected lower HCC levels (marginal M = 5.69, 95% CI [-1.92, 13.30]) than the control group (marginal M = 18.22, 95% CI [10.83, 25.61]). Post hoc analysis revealed an estimated marginal mean difference of -12.53 (SE = 5.36, = 0.021). Sample -tests compared HCC levels against the pre-COVID normative value of 7.5 pg/mg. The intervention group HCC mean (M = 5.85, SD = 6.26) was significantly lower than the normative value, t(61) = -2.08, = 0.042. The control group's mean HCC (M = 18.22, SD = 41.39) was significantly higher than the normative value, t(64) = 2.09, = 0.041.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing daily recess may contribute to lower chronic stress levels among 4th grade children. With obesity and mental health disorders on the rise and American students' academic performance on the decline, these pilot results cannot be overlooked or dismissed.