According to publications, the average physical activity of students during 8 months of classes is approximately 8–11 thousand steps per day; 3–4 thousand steps in the 2-month examination period, and 14–19 thousand steps in the 2-month vacation period [5]. Moreover, experts note that the level of physical activity during the holidays is close to the biological need for movement, and during classes and exams, the natural need is satisfied only by 50–65 and 18–22%, respectively [5]. According to our results, in the first stage of the experiment (beginning of September 2020), the satisfaction of such a natural need among students in the control and experimental groups was performed, respectively, by 47.03 and 46.12% of the average statistical data of publications (16 500 steps per day), which we took as 100% (Fig. 3a).

Average daily volume of motor activity in students of the control (CG) and experimental groups (EG) at different stages of the study, thousands of steps (a), and the frequency (% of the total number of respondents) of subjective symptoms of maladaptation (b). Here and in Fig. 4: * Differences are significant between the control and experimental groups at the same points in the experiment; ** differences are significant within the group in relation to the first point of the experiment (p < 0.05).

In addition, at the beginning of the experiment, the duration of working at a computer (or using other electronic gadgets) during classes, work and rest was an average of 8.5 ± 1.75 h/day in the control and experimental groups in a sitting/lying position (some classes were online). The low level of motor activity and an excessive volume of information consumption can explain a higher biological age by an average of 40% over the calendar one (due to low values of static balancing) and the presence of some symptoms of maladaptation, which we recorded at the beginning of the academic year, although their frequency in the studied groups of students was insignificant (Table 1, see Fig. 3b). Our results are consistent with published data that with the development and introduction of digital technologies, along with a reduction in real intersubject interaction, there is a redistribution of the youth time budget towards an increase in the proportion of communication with a computer even for the purpose of rest and entertainment in the evening, at night and on weekends (communication via social networks, computer games, watching videos, listening to music, etc.). This negatively affects health and indicators of the functional state that determine the performance efficiency, including class activity [6, 10, 20].

Considering the obtained results of the initial examination and the approaches described by various authors to compiling road maps for prolonging life and achieving active longevity [3, 12, 13], in order to prevent the undesirable consequences of a decrease in physical activity and an increase in the volume and intensity of information consumption in the experimental group, it was recommended to carry out aerobic exercise with restructuring of the sleep regimen (duration of at least 8 h, the time of falling asleep should be in the range from 22 to 24 h) and compliance with generally accepted rules of information hygiene.

As a result of motor-mode correction (walking 11 000 steps in fresh air at a moderate/fast pace without switching to running), the daily biological need for motor activity of the students of the experimental group was satisfied by 66.7%, which (p < 0.05) exceeded the corresponding indicator in the control group by 57% (see Fig. 3a). It should be noted that, in addition, in the experimental group, food intake was divided into 5 meals: three main and two snacks; monitoring the energy value and the ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral food components and vitamins was carried out using mobile applications available in modern phones.

Particular attention of the participants of the experimental group was drawn to the need for careful selection of products to exclude sugary carbonated drinks, fast food, fried/smoked food, chips and similar ingredients, the negative impact of which on health, life expectancy and quality of life is described in many studies [13, 18, 19].

When formulating recommendations for diet rationalization, we relied on numerous experimental data [3, 16] on the benefits of substances such as stimulators of telomere lengthening and telomerase activity, ingredients with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, ubiquinone and many others) in the composition of products. It was also proposed to diversify the menu with products containing amino acids (histidine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tryptophan, threonine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, arginine), which are necessary for the prevention of osteoporosis, insomnia, depression, improvement of hematopoiesis and the activity of the immune system, memory and learning abilities [17].

After 4 months of the experiment, at the end of the semester on the eve of the winter session, the control group showed a significant increase in the frequency of subjective symptoms of maladaptation (see Fig. 3b) and a deterioration in the indicators of well-being (by 32%) and activity (by 22%) under stable mood values, which indicates an increase in fatigue and psychoemotional stress. A decrease in the attention parameters by 26% recorded at the same time contributed to a deterioration in performance efficiency, which manifested in an increase in the duration of completing homework and a further increase in the use of electronic gadgets up to 10.75 ± 0.85 h (Fig. 4, see Table 1).

Dynamics of well-being (W), activity (A), mood (M) indicators in students of the control (CG) and experimental groups (EG).

On the contrary, the four-month health-preserving behavior of the subjects of the experimental group significantly contributed to an improvement in subjective (see Figs. 3b and 4) and objective indicators (see Table 1) both in comparison with the control group and in comparison with their initial values.

Thus, consistently high indicators of well-being, activity, mood and a significant increase in the speed of switching attention may indicate preservation of a high level of physical and mental performance and effectiveness of the educational process among students of the experimental group even at the end of the semester under the tense conditions of test week and preparation for the examination session.

It is also necessary to note improvement in such indicators of biological age as the duration of holding one’s breath and static balancing in the experimental group, while in the subjects of the control group, significant deterioration in these indicators contributed to an increase in the rate of aging as evidenced by the values of biological age and proper biological age (see Table 1).

An additional factor contributing to maintaining a high level, and in some cases even improving the studied indicators in the experimental group of students, was a decrease in the duration of information consumption of various electronic gadgets by an average of 1.5 h due to increased physical activity.