Table 1.

Components of the Active Break Protocol.

Phase	Aim	Examples of the Type of Exercises	Duration
Warm-up	Physical activation and mobility	“The traffic light”: all children stand next to the desk and wait for the teacher’s commands. When the teacher says “green” the children have to start running quickly on the spot, when the command is “yellow” the children have to slow down and march on the spot; finally, when the teacher says “red” the children have to stop in position.	3 min
Tone-up	High-intensity interval training (HIIT); balance; cooperation; coordination exercises	HIIT “jumping jack”: all children perform jumping jack on the spot for 40”, followed by 20” of rest in balance position	5 min
Cool-down	Breath control and relaxation exercises to restart the usual academic lesson	“Flower and the candle”: children learn the correct way to breathe by imagining to inhale the scent of a flower and exhale while blowing on a candle	2 min