Improving cognition: the effects of combining abacus use with physical exercise

Background Children’s cognitive development includes key skills such as creativity, verbal fluency and executive functions, essential for academic performance, social interaction and adaptive behaviour. Educational interventions that integrate cognitive and physical stimulation have shown potential in supporting these developmental processes.Purpose This study adopted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design to examine the effects of a combined abacus training and physical exercise intervention on 82 children aged six to 12 in Andalusia, Spain. The intervention lasted 12 weeks and consisted of twice weekly sessions integrating physical activity and abacus-based cognitive tasks. The study hypothesised that: Children who participated in the combined intervention would demonstrate significantly greater improvements in creativity, executive functioning, and verbal fluency compared with children in the control group.Method Participants were randomly assigned either to receive the intervention (experimental group), or to a control group. The three outcomes of interest were evaluated as follows: Creativity – through the Creative Intelligence Test (CREA); executive functions – through the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF); and verbal fluency – through phonological and semantic subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V).Findings Children in the experimental group showed statistically significant improvements compared with their baseline performance and, in several outcomes, compared with the control group. Improvements were observed in creativity; executive functioning domains such as behavioural regulation, planning, and working memory; and phonological and semantic verbal fluency.Conclusions These findings provide promising evidence that combining physical exercise with abacus-based cognitive training may support the development of key cognitive skills in children. Further research involving larger samples, longer interventions, and longitudinal follow-up is recommended to confirm and extend these findings.