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Effects of tennis play on executive function in 6-11-year-old children: a 12-month longitudinal study

Toru Ishihara1, Masao Mizuno1

  • 1a Department of Health and Physical Education, Faculty of Education , Hokkaido University , Sapporo , Japan.

European Journal of Sport Science
|March 14, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Frequent tennis play significantly improved children's working memory. Increased physical competence and enjoyment in tennis also boosted executive functions like inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility.

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Sports science
  • Cognitive neuroscience

Background:

  • Executive functions are crucial for children's cognitive development and academic success.
  • Physical activity is known to benefit cognitive functions, but the specific impact of structured sports like tennis requires further investigation.
  • Understanding the relationship between sports participation, physical competence, enjoyment, and executive functions can inform targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of a 12-month tennis intervention on children's executive functions.
  • To examine the associations between daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), physical competence, and enjoyment of tennis with executive functions.
  • To compare the effects of low-dose versus high-dose tennis play on executive functions.

Main Methods:

  • A 12-month intervention study involving 32 children (6-11 years old) who regularly played tennis.
  • Participants were divided into a low-dose group (maintained frequency) and a high-dose group (increased to 4 times/week).
  • Evaluated executive functions (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility), MVPA, physical competence, and enjoyment before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

  • The high-dose tennis group showed significantly greater improvements in working memory compared to the low-dose group.
  • No significant group differences were observed in MVPA, physical competence, or enjoyment.
  • Improvements in cognitive flexibility were associated with changes in MVPA and physical competence.
  • Enhancements in working memory and cognitive flexibility were linked to changes in physical competence.
  • Increased enjoyment of tennis correlated with improvements in inhibitory control.

Conclusions:

  • Increasing tennis play frequency enhances executive functions, particularly working memory, in children.
  • Sports programs that foster physical competence and enjoyment are effective in supporting executive function development.
  • Integrating sports like tennis into children's routines can be a valuable strategy for cognitive enhancement.

Keywords:
Childrencognitionexercisehealthpsychology

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