School-Related Sedentary Behaviour Recommendations

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www.sedentarybehaviour.org

What is sedentary �behaviour?

Sedentary behaviour: sitting or lying down with low energy expenditure

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School-related: occurring during school hours (e.g., classroom, recess) or outside of school hours but influenced by the school (e.g., homework, assigned studying)

What is the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network?

The Sedentary Behaviour Research Network connects sedentary behaviour researchers and health professionals working in all fields of study, and disseminates research to the academic community and to the public at large.

sedentarybehaviour.org

Why did the SBRN

create these recommendations?

Why did the SBRN create these recommendations?

• Excess sedentary behaviour has negative impacts for students’ health

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• Students are exceeding existing recommendations

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• Schools are (often) a sedentary environment

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• Schools represent an opportunity to modify unhealthy behaviours and model healthy behaviours

1. Tremblay, 2011 (Int J Beh Nutr and Phys Act)
2. Liu, Wu and Yao (British Journal of Sports Medicine)

Research indicates that more than 2 hours/day of screen time is associated with:

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• unfavourable body composition¹
• decreased fitness¹
• lowered scores for self-esteem and pro-social behaviour¹
• decreased academic achievement¹
• a sharp increase in the risk of depression²

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Screen time and health

Screen time and sleep

“Bedtime access to and use of a media device were significantly associated with the following: inadequate sleep quantity, poor sleep quality, and excessive daytime sleepiness.” 

Students get a lot of screen use

Students Exceed Screen �Recommendations

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0.5

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TV

Computer/Video Games

Surfing the Internet

Total Screen

Canadian screen guidelines

(≤ 2 hours/day)

Source: SHAPES PEI

Grade

Hours/Day

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TV

Computer/Video Games

Surfing the Internet

Total Screen

Canadian screen guidelines

(≤ 2 hours/day)

Source: SHAPES PEI

Grade

Hours/Day

Students Exceed Screen �Recommendations

Why focus on schools?

School is largely sedentary

Meta analysis: Students in grades K-12 are sedentary for 63% of the school day

Accounts for 37% of daily sedentary time

Active lessons are better for health than sedentary lessons

Harrington et al., 2011 (IJBNPA); Grau-Cruces et al., 2020 (J Sport Sci)

Kuzik et al., 2022 (IJBNPA)

School-related sedentary behaviour and screen use are changing

School is a controlled environment

Image source:throwbackdays.net

Prior to this process, there were no evidence-based recommendations specific to school-related sedentary behaviours

Purpose

To develop recommendations for school-related sedentary behaviours for school-aged children and youth.

Recommendation Development

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Form Steering Committee: October 2020

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Convene Expert Panel to identify data needed to inform recommendations: November 2020

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Perform reviews to summarize data needed to inform recommendations: December 2020-June 2021

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Convene Expert Panel to provide data and draft recommendations: June 2021

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Share draft recommendations with key stakeholders: July 2021

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Update recommendations based on feedback: July-September 2021

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Release Guidelines: Winter 2022

For full details: www.sedentarybehaviour.org

Recommendations

Who are the recommendations for?

These recommendations are for children and youth attending school (typically 5-18 years of age) inclusive of gender, culture, nationality and socio-economic status.

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How were the recommendations developed?

The recommendations are based on:

• Best available evidence
• Expert consensus
• Stakeholder input

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The background research informing these recommendations, as well as future research directions, are available at www.sedentarybehaviour.org.

How can the recommendations be used?

Educators, school administrators, policy makers, parents/guardians, caregivers, physicians and other healthcare providers should support students to meet these recommendations.

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Implementation should be tailored to accommodate the diverse strengths, needs and interests of individual students and school communities.

Recommendation 1

A Healthy Day Includes:

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Breaking up periods of extended sedentary behaviour with both scheduled and unscheduled movement breaks

• At least once every 30 minutes for ages 5-11 years.
• At least once every hour for ages 12-18 years.
• Consider a variety of intensities and durations (e.g., standing, stretching breaks, moving to another classroom, active lessons, active breaks).

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/3892246738/

Recommendation 2

A Healthy Day Includes:

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Incorporating different types of movement into homework whenever possible, and limiting sedentary homework to no more than 10 minutes per day, per grade level.

Recommendation 3

School-related screen time should be meaningful, mentally or physically active, and serve a specific pedagogical purpose that enhances learning compared to alternative methods.

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When school-related screen time is warranted:

• Limit time on devices, especially for students 5-11 years of age.
• Take a device break at least once every 30 minutes.
• Discourage media-multitasking in the classroom and while doing homework.
• Avoid screen-based homework within an hour of bedtime.

Recommendation 4

Replace sedentary learning activities with movement-based learning activities (including standing) and replace screen-based learning activities with non-screen-based learning activities (e.g., outdoor lessons)

Implement these recommendations using the Four M’s approach

Implement with the 4 M’s

1. Manage sedentary behaviour (see recommendations)

2. Encourage Meaningful screen use.

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• Model healthy and meaningful screen use.

4. Monitor for signs of problematic screen use and follow-up with a physician or healthcare provider if concerns arise.

Encouraging Meaningful �Screen Use

• Prioritize face-to-face interactions over screen use
• Use screens when they are the best pedagogical tool for the job
• Avoid screen use during meal and snack times
• Prioritize screens for mental and physical engagement, rather than for passive viewing
• Turn screens off when not in use
• Avoid using screens as the default method for content delivery or classroom management
• Encourage students to reflect on and self-regulate their screen use

Modeling screen use

Are you modeling the behaviours you’d like to see in your students?

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Monitor for problematic �screen use

Flag for a parent/caregiver or follow-up with a health professional if signs of problematic screen use arise. For example:

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• Complaints about being bored or unhappy without access to technology
• Difficulty accepting screen time limits
• Screen use interferes with other activities
• Negative emotions following time spent on screens

Ideas for implementing within your school community

Ideas for teachers

• All activity = good activity!
• Prioritize movement-based learning opportunities
• Add frequent movement breaks
• Consider how we could all move our bodies during a lesson or assignment
• Let students find and practice what works for them - e.g., stand during lessons, walk in place during class discussions
• Ask yourself whether a screen is the best tool for the job
• Avoid screens during meal breaks
• Share the great things you're already doing to build movement into your classroom/school!

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Shift your practice -> shift the day -> shift the culture!

Are screens the best �tool for this job?

Optimal screen use:

• Does it enhance learning?
• Is there a specific pedagogical purpose?
• Are students mentally/physically active when using the screen?

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Less optimal screen use:

• Are students eating?
• Is the purpose entertainment/classroom management?
• Is it simply on in the background?

Strategies for administrators�and policymakers

• Support teachers in trying out new strategies and sharing what works

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• Give clear guidance to your teaching staff
• Activity breaks
• Screen use
• Homework

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• How can your school(s) promote movement?
• Class length?
• Standing workstations?
• Walking School Bus? Bike racks?

How to Get Involved

• Please promote within your schools and professional networks
• Recommendations are available in multiple languages, including French and Inuktitut

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• For translations, details on background research and other promotional materials, visit sedentarybehaviour.org or phecanada.ca.

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https://www.sedentarybehaviour.org/school-related-sedentary-behaviour-recommendations

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What Next?

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• Questions? Comments? Email trsaunders@upei.ca.

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• Share your feedback:
• How have you implemented the recommendations?
• What worked well? What didn’t work so well?
• What challenges have you experienced? What support would you need?

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• If your school/board is interested in implementing (or evaluating their implementation) let us know!

Acknowledgements

Steering Committee:

Iryna Demchenko

Corey Kuzik

Scott Rollo

Travis Saunders

Mark Tremblay

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Expert Panel:

Stacey Bélanger

Kara Brisson-Boivin

Val Carson

Marsha Costello

Bruno da Costa

Melanie Davis

Susan Hornby

Wendy Huang

Barbi Law

Chris Markham

Maribeth Rogers Neale

Jo Salmon

Jennifer Tomasone

Antonius van Rooij

Lucy-Joy Wachira

Katrien Wijndaele

Michelle Ponti

Systematic Review Co-Authors:

Yeongho Hwang

Simone J J M Verswijveren

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Stakeholders who provided feedback

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PHE Canada