TY  - EJOU
AU  - Pan, Mingzhu 
AU  - Liu, Linghong 
AU  - Li, Xinxing 
AU  - Kueh, Yee Cheng 
AU  - Zhang, Yanjie 
AU  - Kuan, Garry 

TI  - The Effects of Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> on Mental Stress, Resilience, Social Support, and Physical Activity among Emerging Adults in China: A Randomized Controlled Trial
T2  - International Journal of Mental Health Promotion

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 2049-8543

AB  - <b>Backgrounds:</b> Mental health challenges among Chinese emerging adults have increased in recent years, raising concerns about students’ psychological well-being in higher education. Brief, scalable interventions such as Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> may offer an effective strategy to promote mental health in higher-education settings. This study aims to examine the effects of a four-week Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> exercise program on mental stress, resilience, social support, and physical activity levels among Chinese emerging adults. <b>Methods:</b> Eighty college students (aged 19 ± 1.41 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). The IG received Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> video-guided sessions twice weekly for four weeks, while the CG received informational brochures on stress reduction. Outcomes included mental stress assessed using a medical device (uBioMacpa), resilience measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), social support assessed using the Social Support Scale for University Students (SSSUS), and physical activity engagement measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). A repeated-measures ANOVA tested time, group, and interaction effects. <b>Results:</b> Significant time × group interactions were observed for mental stress (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001, η<sup>2</sup> = 0.75), resilience (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001, η<sup>2</sup> = 0.43), and physical activity (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001, η<sup>2</sup> = 0.22), favoring the IG. Mental stress decreased substantially (Δ = −17.65), whereas resilience (Δ = +1.02) and physical activity increased significantly. No changes were observed in social support. <b>Conclusions:</b> A brief, digitally delivered Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> program is effective in reducing stress and enhancing resilience and physical activity among emerging adults. These findings support the integration of Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup> into university-based mental health promotion strategies. Longer interventions may be necessary to influence social support.
KW  - Brain Breaks<sup>®</sup>; mental stress; resilience; physical activity; emerging adults; mental health promotion

DO  - 10.32604/ijmhp.2026.080336