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Yoga and Breathing Exercises Aid Children with ADHD to Focus
- tacocataco 5y agoI got way into eastern spirituality in my 20's, taoism especially. Not a religion, more like a way of life. Taoists believe that the spirit and the body connect through breathing because it is both a involuntary and voluntary action at the same time. Now that you're thinking about it, you're probably personally controlling your breath, where before you clicked into this comment section it was just happening naturally. I read several books, starting with one written by a Westerner and the later ones that were over a millenia old. All focused on all sorts breathing exercises. Even during love making, controlled measured breathing. Centering yourself, focusing your attention/sensory tools inwards rather than the outside world. From my limited experience, I'd say if you're having issues with focus it is a great tool to have. If you want some book recommendations I can give them, just ask. I don't want people to think I'm here to market anything.
- alostpuppy 5y agoI would like recommendations.
- loopz 5y agoArt of Living have good courses.
- wayneftw 5y agoI like this book, Getting Right with Tao - http://www.beatrice.com/wordpress/tao-te-ching http://www.beatrice.com/wordpress/tao-te-ching A link to the free PDF is mentioned in the last paragraph.
- carapace 5y agoNot the OP but I recommend Jonathan Star's translation of the Tao Te Ching. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292570/tao-te-ching-by-jonathan-star/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292570/tao-te-ching...
- rednerrus 5y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBVIhpaPs9o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBVIhpaPs9o Has had a significant effect on my life. Do it for 20 minutes before you go to bed and see if you get results in a couple of weeks.
- amirkdv 5y agoThe power of breathing over mind/body regulation seems highly underrated, in the West at least. I certainly knew nothing about it until I read this feature article [0][1] and the resources it pointed to. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/26/every-breath-you-take-the-lost-art-of-breathing https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/26/every-b... [1] HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23962638 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23962638
- vekker 5y agoThat doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Learning the Wim Hof breathing method changed my life for the better. And this is not meant as an advertisement for his business; you can find the same technique (with or without branding) for free everywhere online. I highly, highly recommend trying it out. Whenever I feel scatter-brained, lack focus or creativity, when I'm feeling down, (or just feel like it) ... this is my go-to method. ~20 minutes of controlled, intermittent hypoxia. Not to mention it's an excellent "tool" to have in psychologically and/or physically stressful times, such as after an accident and being in a hospital (speaking from experience).
- new_guy 5y agoWim Hof is a bit of a joke, it's a western bastardisation of an Indian science that's thousands of years old. You're better going straight to the source: http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1903sciencebreath.pdf http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1903sciencebreath....
- waihtis 5y agoIf he manages to popularize something that is highly useful for people and costs nothing to do, how is he a joke? I'm sure 99% of the people are aware that Wim Hof didn't invent therapeutic breathing.
- david38 5y agoBy this rationale, if I bring aspirin to some tribe that never had it, I’m a joke?
- carapace 5y agoIf you changed the name from aspirin to "david38's awesome headache cure" wouldn't that make you some kind of a joke?
- swader999 5y agoI'm torn on this comment. The guy has done some amazing things with what he's learned and he has helped a lot of people. He also went many many years on this angle and only recently hit the big time. But yes, he didn't invent or discover these things, he repackaged them.
- falcolas 5y agoSample size: 16 children between the ages of 6 and 7. Not worth reporting. Totally worth doing a few bigger studies before shouting to the world that we're just not breathing right.
- swader999 5y agoValid comment but take a week and learn Wim Hof breathing and among the other benefits just see what it can do for your max pushup score. Most people nearly double their result which is extraordinary.
- falcolas 5y agoSure. I'll even be sure to follow it up with some Lavender essential oils and a dilution of Arnica Montana. Snark aside, your anecdotal endorsement of this breathing technique could give some Homeopaths a run for their money. Might want to ease up on the fanatical tone of your pitch.
- swader999 5y agoI only suggested you take five minutes a day over the course of a week to try it to give you something real and objective to consider for less effort than you've already put into this thread. The breathing technique is all over the web and YouTube for free. Also, this way of breathing isn't something you do continuously. It's just an exercise you do when you want to realize the benefits. Maybe a couple times a day if you are keen. The guy climbs mountains in just his underwear and shorts, can ward off a cold using his mind and this way of breathing, held the world records for distance under ice and sitting submerged in a tub of ice water. He teaches others to do these things very quickly. Women want him and men want to be him. I'm still not being fanatical ok? This guy is the real deal.
- carapace 5y agoHe learned a few things and developed some of the mildest "magic powers". That's nice, but let's not go overboard. He's basically another foolish Westerner importing and repackaging the least interesting parts of an ancient and potent body of knowledge. In re: "magic powers": The word is "siddhi". > Siddhis (Sanskrit: सिद्धि siddhi; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation and yoga.[1] The term ṛddhi (Pali: iddhi, "psychic powers") is often used interchangeably in Buddhism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhi The only important thing to know about these magic powers is that they are a distraction.
- fasteo 5y agoFor those - I was one - doubting that breathing can have any effect in brain activity, you would be surprised to know that voluntary hyperventilation is a common tool to diagnose epilepsy[1]. My kid went through a battery of tests that included light - no reaction - and hyperventilation - that triggered some jerky movements in his legs and a clear alteration of the EEG readings. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6546426/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6546426/
- 1MachineElf 5y agoThe link to the original research is not working, presumably that's because it's "closed access" according to the reference: https://www.clinicalkey.com/content/playBy/pii/?v=S0006322321006521&returnurl=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006322321006521?showall=true&referrer= https://www.clinicalkey.com/content/playBy/pii/?v=S000632232... I wonder what criteria they used to measure the improvement in focus. Was it the children themselves saying "yes, I feel more focused now", or was it a test of the children's ability of focus, or something else?
- hn8788 5y agoI wonder if the increase in ADHD diagnoses can be tied to school becoming more focused on sitting still in a room for a long period of time. At least for me, I was doing really well in school when classes were ~50 minutes, and some included phsical activity like shop class and home economics. In my junior year of high school, they switched classes to 90 minutes, you took different classes on different days, and none of my classes included physical activities. My grades plummeted after the switch, and I ended up getting diagnosed with ADD when I was struggling with college in my mid-20s.
- loceng 5y agoIn part sure but making anyone focus on something they're not naturally interested in in that moment is going to cause inattention that they'll have to fight to focus; it could also easily be food they're eating causing the ADHD as well.
- 908B64B197 5y agoThis is especially true for boys.
- sheer_audacity 5y agoIt’s true for all genders. Girls with things like adhd and autism are generally over policed in their behaviour compared to boys.
- drdunks 5y agoVery similar story here. Received diagnosis + transferred away from 90min block schedule and my grades immediately improved. Also that year, operation for deviated septum due to basketball. I wonder how much of ADHD diagnosis was due to not getting quality sleep at night during informative years.
- sheer_audacity 5y agoSpeaking as someone with ADHD that is being studied by a big international university- adhd has a huge sleep disorder component. Your septum will have contributed, but generally people with adhd have problems sleeping due to dopamine regulation during the day.
- aantix 5y agoYou're trying to calm the central nervous system. Magnesium deficiency should be part of this discussion.
- 0xcde4c3db 5y ago> “For children with ADHD, as a rule, the part of the brain that is responsible for the regulation of brain activity – the reticular formation – is deficient,” said Sergey Kiselev, head of the Laboratory of Brain and Neurocognitive Development at UrFU, head of the study. This is news to me, and I'm having trouble finding any good sources that talk about it. Anyone have any suggestions?
- moshmosh 5y agoOur pediatrician told us that, too, but also said that confirming it with scans costs mid-five-figures (in the US) so nobody actually diagnoses it that way, but instead with surveys and self-evualation and such.
- 2wrist 5y agoQuite interesting that. Thanks for the post. On an aside, I have struggled with reading focus these past few years I have found that when I read I get a jittery panicky feeling like I need to stop and do something else. What seems to help is, when that feeling occurs is to use diaphragmatic breathing and continue to read, my focus is better and the feeling subsides. I am hoping I can retrain myself to focusing like I used to as I loved to read. Growing up, adults used to say... "Remeber your breathing!" Perhaps they were right :-)
- allenrb 5y agoWhile I absolutely believe that breathing techniques can be beneficial for ADHD (I’ve got it, and our almost-7 y/o daughter does, too), the mechanism posited here seems… questionable. One region of the brain getting more oxygen? If that were the explanation, surely other regions of the brain would be performing poorly due to insufficient oxygen as well. And further, taking oxygen might be expected to yield improvements. Is any of that the case?
- sarabad2021 5y agoNot so sure about the Yoga (easily subbed with cardio) but I can see breathing exercises helping. That said, I would like to see these kids just having less screen time and more outdoor activity and compare the results to this study.
- interleave 5y agoAs someone who used to 'self-medicate'[1] my (then-undiagnosed) ADHD with breathing techniques and Yoga – mostly Hatha and Kundalini Yoga – for 15 years I am - personally - very skeptic of these claims. Don't get me wrong, I still love breathing techniques and Yoga and practice both on a daily basis. But I DON'T see how stimulating your nervous system this way will do what ADHD medication actually does: Inhibit dopamine/norephedrine reuptake / increase dopamine/norephedrine secretion. In other words, in my n-equals-one world, the difference the right medication has made in managing ADHD has been an order of magnitude greater compared to regular, intense and consistent breathing, Yoga and meditation. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=interleave https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=interleave
- nefitty 5y agoI’m in the same boat. I love meditating, and I have noticed positive effects, but it is no comparison to actual medical treatment. I think that meditation extends my capacity for focus in one sitting, but it never helped with the “ugh” factor, the actual push to do things I didn’t want to do. Medication helps with the latter part. Meditation helps me capitalize on it further.
- loveistheanswer 5y ago>But I DON'T see how stimulating your nervous system this way will do what ADHD medication actually does: Inhibit dopamine/norephedrine reuptake / increase dopamine/norephedrine secretion. Why do you assume thats the only way to mitigate behaviors associated with ADHD?
- pmlnr 5y ago"clear your mind" practiced for milennias clears your mind, who would have thiught?