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Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Performance with ADHD
- danielfoster 6y agoAnyone have a TLDR? Tried reading but the formatting on mobile didn’t work out for me. Or maybe it’s my ADHD.
- serpix 6y agoTLDR Aerobic exercise improves the cognitive function of humans. A tremendous breakthrough.
- AnthonBerg 6y agoEven just the abstract shows pretty clearly that this is a sound and useful scientific inquiry into the hows and the whys that also shows a difference in the effect response of exercise on cognitive function - between an ADHD group vs. the control group. This is good stuff.
- catawbasam 6y agoAnd yet our schools require kids to sit still in the morning before classes start when a few minutes of running around would do them a world of good. Madness.
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoRun them around before they get to school?
- catawbasam 6y agoYup
- shrubble 6y agoThis was done in my elementary school... most kids arrived 10-15 minutes early and milled around outside of the building. Teachers would open the doors at a set time to let us in...
- karatestomp 6y agoThey've reduced recess time down to almost nothing. Even for kindergarteners. Ours gets (well, got) about half an hour, and this is full-day kindergarten, none of that half-day stuff. Also they've gotten really lazy/risk-averse about letting kids go outside if it's a tad cold, or a tad drizzly, or a tad snowy, which it is, you know, a lot of days, so then they just have no recess. How much ADHD is ADHD and how much is humans and especially kids aren't supposed to sit still so damn much and one of the ways the universal ill effects of this manifest is as ADHD symptoms in a lot of people?
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoEh. Results weren't conclusive.
- dTal 6y agotl;dr it definitely helps, we're not sure how much, a proper large-scale trial is needed.
- rovr138 6y ago> In summary, the existing preliminary evidence suggests that exercise can improve cognitive performance intimately linked to ADHD presentations in children with and without an ADHD diagnosis. Based on the findings from both PBC and ADHD children, we cautiously provide recommendations for parameters of exercise. Exercising seems to help people with ADHD perform better. Anecdotal, I’ve found this out through years of living with it. I work better after working out in the mornings. If I don’t, I end up being productive in the afternoons when I finally get a bit tired.
- __saykou 6y agoI don't know if I have it or not. But exercises also helps me just to focus and I enjoy more the work.
- rovr138 6y agoI got diagnosed with it a couple of years back. I knew I had it, but I wasn’t diagnosed. The evaluation is simple. They gave me a questionnaire with ‘have you ever’ questions. You rank them (think “a lot”, “often”, “sometimes“, “no”). Then they score based on that. And let me tell you, filling that out made me start crying. All the shit I had put my mom through while growing up, school, college, etc. But hey, I got the diagnosis. I have meds I can take if I need them. I currently don’t do it everyday because I simply don’t have to for what I do day to day. But if I’m working on something that requires me to hold regular hours at work or on some projects that are more conceptual, I have to. All this to say, the test is simple and pretty quick. If you are curious, you could take it.
- karl-j 6y ago> All this to say, the test is simple and pretty quick. Just to curb peoples expectations a bit, I started the process of getting diagnosed about two years ago, got the diagnosis less than a year ago, and I'm having the first meeting with a doctor who can actually prescribe meds next week. No part of it has been simple or quick. So I guess YMMV.
- je42 6y agoidd long text. One aspect that I found helpful were the references to sources that suggest the timing of exercise is important to lower the symptoms: > The effects of acute exercise appear less robust. Of great interest, Chang et al., found that only exercise carried out during the first half of the day yielded positive outcomes [66]. This underlines the importance of timing exercise. This is supported by Hart who found that 15 min of exercise provided at the beginning of the day can reduce behaviors associated with ADHD and that while this effect dissipates over time, a short bout of 3–5 min. moderate-to-vigorous physical activity 90 m after the initial exercise, can maintain the benefits [375]
- raverbashing 6y agoSomething good to know: the tldr is usually on the article itself, in the Conclusion part of the article (sometimes this is on the abstract as well) A bit on the ironic side, the Conclusion section of this article is very hard to find (it's on page 36 of 86, depending on your zoom level) and this reading mode on the website doesn't work so well But here it is > In line with previous research, we find that exercise benefits executive functions and attentional control in children with ADHD. The beneficial effects are comparable to those reported in PBC with substantial and consistent improvement on test of several cognitive functions following particularly long-term exercise. An important notion is also that no study has reported negative or adverse effects of exercise.
- virvar 6y agoI really wish a lot of things started with the conclusion or TLDR. I have ADHD and I have issues reading to the end of an email without skipping and quitting before the end. I mean, I know there is a certain way to write research articles and that they aren’t exactly meant for people with attention problems, but without people like you I’d never see the conclusion. Hell I might even look for it and then not find it and forget all about it. I kind of knew exercise was good for me though. I even like doing it. The real issue is to begin to exercising instead of just thinking about starting it for a whole day without actually getting started.
- mkl 6y agoWell, research articles have abstracts for exactly this purpose. They're one paragraph right at the start.
- atemerev 6y agoIf only there would be a way to stick regularly to exercise schedule! :)
- __saykou 6y agoI see what you did there.
- tudorw 6y agoJust exercise when you cannot decide what to prioritise ;)
- 3131s 6y agoYou have to find something that you genuinely enjoy doing, there's no other way.
- atemerev 6y agoI tried many things (found out I really hate running with passion). I really liked skateboarding, but I have broken my leg and a wrist bone short afterwards. So I didn’t continue.
- Sir_Substance 6y agoThis, really. I'm not sure if you're delivering that line straight, or sarcastically, but this is actually an important problem I've had to explain to to my doctor. I initially started a year ago on an ADD medication that worked very well, but only if taken every day. It takes about two weeks of utterly consistent usage to reach proper effectiveness, after which it's very good at what it does. If you miss a single day, it flushes out of your system and you have to start the two weeks again. This makes it fucking useless for treating ADD, because ADD (among other things) makes it very hard to maintain consistent schedules, so those two weeks are more like 6 weeks, because you keep missing a dosage. Once you make it to the effective stage, better avoid going out on the town because if you get a hangover and sleep late you can't take it in the afternoon or it'll fuck with your sleep and now you've reset the clock. When it comes to exercise, god damn is exercise boring for me. I can physically exercise for a long time, but mentally I can do it for about 10 minutes before I'm out of focus and ready to build statues out of paperclips just to have something to do. Yes, I've tried audiobooks. I can see exercise working very well as a force multiplier a correctly managed medication, allowing people to keep their dosage low enough to avoid side effects while still getting the benefits. However, asking people to exercise their way out of ADD is kinda like asking them to exercise out of depression. You need something else to get the momentum of the process rolling first, or the "static friction" of the condition is going to prevent the exercise from happening in the first place.
- cycomanic 6y agoIt's actually amazing for how many conditions exercise helps, depression is another one.
- meiraleal 6y agoAnd it is even more amazing to think that these conditions would not even be conditions if we didn't become more sedentary each generation.
- xnx 6y agoIf exercise was a drug, no one would believe it could have so many positive effects.
- bryanrasmussen 6y agoabuse of exercise can be pretty detrimental though.
- sirtaj 6y agoI consider it similar to drinking water. You have to try pretty hard to get to the point where you're doing too much of it.
- xerox13ster 6y agoAnd like with water and dehydration, if you get too much too quickly when you've gone without it for too long, it can be detrimental
- monadic2 6y agoIf you’re young maybe!
- tudorw 6y agoAgreed, I've had friends get issues where they hit one particular form of exercise really hard, for me I'm more about flexibility and trying to keep a good allover balance. Not that I am a shining example of fitness...
- rank0 6y agoIts pretty hard to get to that point unless you undergo a serious sudden change in volume.
- balfirevic 6y agoIt would never get approved. Side effects include shortness of breath, profuse sweating, variety of small aches and it renders you unable to do anything for 30-90 minutes, depending on the dosage. There are also reports of inducing psychological dependency.
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoAren't their conclusions small and inconclusive? The 'effect of exercise' in this case is, indeterminate.
- tudorw 6y agoI'm a layperson with an interest so welcome input, my takeaway was this bit 'preliminary evidence suggests that exercise can improve cognitive performance intimately linked to ADHD presentations in children with and without an ADHD diagnosis' which seems to suggest you are incorrect? Given that essentially no harm would come from all children taking a good amount of exercise it would seem following the recommendations would give a good outcome, there are many other benefits to exercise, obviously the odd broken leg, but injuries aside am I missing something?
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoTo quote Paucity of studies probing the effect of different exercise parameters impedes finite conclusions in this regard. I took that to mean, no idea what works or why. And there's a cost to getting an ADHD child to consistently exercise. Its can be challenging to do anything for any duration, regularly. Lets not discount the parental effort for this to succeed. Lets not throw this at parents as another thing they should all be doing, without more than very-qualified evidence. There's enough things to make ADHD parents feel guilty about already.
- ekanes 6y agoParenting an ADHD kiddo is hard enough, for sure. But I read that sentence with emphasis on the word, "different" rather than "exercise" -- so they would be saying that there's such variety in exercise, it's hard to say with enough certainty WHICH exercise. (But I'm also just an interested layperson.)
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoAnd the return was almost unmeasurable.
- xerox13ster 6y agoAs someone with ADHD, I've noticed that I can stick to a schedule and control my symptoms throughout the day by exercising first thing in the morning. I'll run to work and for the first portion of the day, I can focus effortlessly, and after a short workout or bit of cardio at lunch I can extend that a little bit into the afternoon. It's vastly helped my mood and my ability to maintain an even keel. I'm happy to see this posted, it's always been told to me that exercise is as or more important than my medication or organizational skills when it comes to managing my disorder, and when I can get myself to stick to it, it's a pretty amazing difference
- mewpmewp2 6y agoDo you have extra clothes at work or how does that part work out?
- stronglikedan 6y agoI don't do it, but I do run right after work, just before dinner. I find that just wiping the sweat off with a dry washcloth and putting on clean clothes cleans me up just as well as a shower. So if I did run to work, I'd just throw a washcloth and clean change of clothes in my backpack, and feel confidently clean all day. EDIT: YMMV (I may not sweat as much as some people.)
- mewpmewp2 6y agoWoah, would not work for me, I sweat like Niagra falls after a run.
- stronglikedan 6y agoCoincidentally, my running buddy does too. I didn't think of that, so thanks for reminding me. I guess I should add a ymmv to my original comment.
- bluntfang 6y agoi ran ~3miles to work for a year and biked 10+ miles daily for many years. Having a change of clothes is a requirement. a shower nearby helps a lot, but I really don't think it's a requirement. 10-15minutes of cool off time in the shade or a walk about will help remove all the sweat. If you're still self conscience then you should bring some baby naps and do a sort of hobo shower.
- mylons 6y agoFor those with ADHD; exercise is good for you.
- taneq 6y agoWorks even without the first bit!
- namelosw 6y agoI'm not sure about the long term, but it's working pretty well immediately after exercise. I'm WFH these days, and follow a relatively flexible schedule, so basically every day whenever I find it is hard to concentrate as usual I would go downstairs and have a 15mins running. Then I can focus for quite a while. I usually do this two to three times a day.
- hprotagonist 6y agoADHD or not, “if your brain is tired make your body tired, too” is a good idea. It’s not for ecology that I prefer to be a bicycle commuter; my reasons are much more selfish.
- alharith 6y agoIt's ok to be selfish and still promote the general welfare. In fact, that's one of the original ideals of capitalism, if I recall correctly.
- jkhdigital 6y agoFound a link to another article in the sidebar: Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Category or a Continuum? Genetic Analysis of a Large-Scale Twin Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9183127/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9183127/ Their conclusion: "These findings suggest that ADHD is best viewed as the extreme of a behavior that varies genetically throughout the entire population rather than as a disorder with discrete determinants." As someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD, this seems like a more natural explanation. If 5-10% of the population allegedly have a disorder, then maybe the "disorder" is in fact just the tail end of a normal genetic distribution. Doesn't mean that the condition is "made up" or that those people don't deserve some kind of treatment, of course.
- chrisweekly 6y agoI prefer to view it as a trait. It's only a disorder if it's not managed properly. By way of analogy to software, consider parallel processing. A program written by someone ignorant of thread safety will be unreliable or even entirely useless; OTOH, there are huge advantages to multi-core processors and distributed systems. IMHO it's a lazy mistake to label everyone whose mind works in this more complicated way as impaired or flawed. I suggest embracing how your unique mind works, learning more about meta-cognition, and finding whatever combination of tools* works best for you, in order to realize your true potential. Many of the most powerful and successful and happy people in the world have figured this out. Don't let your diagnosis be an excuse for mediocrity or failure! *eg counseling | coaching, medication, meditation, exercise, productivity systems, journaling, etc.
- uncletaco 6y agoI think what makes it a disorder is its severity makes it difficult for an individual to manage it properly without treatment or intervention. Everything you've suggested are things that most people who are aware that they have the disorder try or do already in order to manage it, I would be surprised if a lot of people found out they had ADHD and used their diagnosis as "an excuse for mediocrity or failure!" If I were being uncharitable I'd say you were just using this comment as a way to dole out unasked for advice to either make yourself feel better or put down some straw-man you've made up. But since I'm not, I'll just leave it at you ain't said nothing slick to a can of oil.
- bergstromm466 6y agoI love this quote: "Rather than an inherited disease, Attention Deficit Disorder is a reversible impairment and a developmental delay, with origins in infancy. It is rooted in multigenerational family stress and in disturbed social conditions in a stressed society. - Dr. Gabor Maté, Scattered Minds More from Maté: https://drgabormate.com/topic/adhd/ https://drgabormate.com/topic/adhd/ I feel so so scared when people talk about ADHD and genetics. Instead I believe we can find it's root cause by looking at the social environment. Were stable, balanced and rich human-to-human connections available in the child's community - or was it lacking? A supportive and safe environment means meeting a child's needs for being seen and heard, skills it needs when it learns to navigate more and more complexity (as well as developing curiosity), as well as being able to work well with others. In my case, and with my ADHD, I think it had more to do with a lack of attunement than with my genetics. My dad holds a Phd in Physics, and my mom is a remedial teacher. I connect my ADHD to my experience of emotional neglect. I moved around the world with my parents (Netherlands, Middle East, US and UK), and after our first expat 'posting' when I was 6 y/o, my parents were not able to give me the space to grieve the loss of my connections with my family and community in my home country. Compounding this with a stressed out (and himself also emotionally neglected) father and a depressed mother (also emotionally neglected), my life become confined to very narrow waterways. The traditional schooling systems was a terrifying experience for me (disclaimer: I went through an unusually large amount of schools as an expat child). Unfortunately I 'missed the train' on many important concepts early on, which built up and accumulated - sort of like a form of technical debt from not getting the basics 'right'. Maybe instead of stamping people with a diagnosis, could we instead describe or examine what constraints or scarcity they faced? I believe the root causes are in the systems we are in, not in us as individuals. As a culture do we have to constantly surround ourselves with hero stories, at the risk of not understanding our own trauma's and swinging from victim into offender?
- XOPJ 6y agoAs someone recently diagnosed with ADHD(Inattentive) I've worked through years of misdiagnosis directed towards depression. I adopted the sport of Ultra-running years ago and with that extreme amount of exercise I've seen benefits and unlocked potential others have without difficulty. There's obvious connections to exercise levels and my overall health, but with the depression it never resolved it. Only recently we found the ADHD diagnosis through reduced running, then tracking all symptoms and doing a deeper analysis on how I interact and think. When you live your entire life struggling to focus you build patterns and tricks to fit in. Turns out these are super bizarre when you speak them out-loud for someone to hear for the first time. I recently explained this break through as similar to how we all do some specific behavior such as sanitary cleaning after a bowel movement, but no one actually talks about their process in detail to know how different we all are. Thinking and focus are sort of like that for me. I'm seeing a lot of comments here that didn't maybe read the article and see how small an impact exercise has, especially compared to medication. After now taking medication for the I've been on a strong emotional ride realizing this correct diagnosis and prescription years ago would have greatly changed my life. With exercise back up to normal levels again I'm seeing 90% improvement by medication is in no way replaceable with running 120 miles a week for a 10-20% improvement. As I'm now working on finding a plan to reduce and then quit the medication these studies are fascinating for me to potentially know the upper limits each coping mechanism provides. This might make me consider quitting my sport and only contributing enough effort to maximize the return so I can then pick up other habits for a greater duration. To anyone else suffering through inattentive ADHD I wish you the best.
- Hickfang 6y agohttps://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/gender/ https://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/gende... “Evidence suggests that the prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or hyperkinetic disorder (HKD), is greater in males than females.” A more plausible explanation is that those doing the diagnosing are female teachers who perceive the more naturally boisterous play of young males as symptomatic of a mental disorder.
- koolhead17 6y agoSpark [1], the book talks about same in details. I enjoyed reading it. [1]: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain Paperback – 1 January 2013 by John J. Ratey MD (Author), Eric Hagerman