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Standing and Dynamic Sitting: Effects on University Classroom Performance – A Pilot Study

Siobhan T Smith, Matthew J Fagan, Jordan C LeSarge, Harry Prapavessis

Background: There are health risks associated with prolonged periods of sitting. A concern with interventions to reduce sitting is performance may suffer.
Purpose: This pilot study investigated the effect of alternative posture on classroom performance.
Methods: University students (N=20) listened to three 50-minute lectures followed by three quizzes pertaining to the lectures, performed cognitive tasks, and rated their discomfort, ease, enjoyment, focus, and future use after each condition. For the main results, one-way repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine for differences across classic sitting, dynamic sitting, and standing conditions.
Results: Classroom performance, cognitive performance, enjoyment, and focus do not suffer by changing students’ anatomical position from classic sitting. However, standing posture may cause more discomfort and difficulty for some students.
Conclusion: At this early stage of inquiry there is no evidence to recommend against providing dynamic sitting and standing options in university classrooms to allow students to receive health benefits as they learn.