Physical Activity Makes ADHD Better
Trinity Alps, CA
Hello Parents!
In a recent blog post from this summer, I wrote about Back to School Planning and discussed the expected bumps in the road as your child readjusts to the routine and rigors of the school year.
I hope your children and teenagers are doing okay and that you’ve had an opportunity to intentionally connect with their teachers.
I've also written recently about nutritional strategies and sleep hygiene habits for ADHD success. In addition to these pillars of lifestyle medicine for ADHD, let's take some time to talk about the incredible potency of physical activity for ADHD success.
We know that daily physical activity is good for physical health, growth, and development. But it is also essential for controlling ADHD symptoms by resetting your child's brain for success. Your child should be physically active, and ideally vigorously active, everyday. If your child is into team sports, that is great. Team sports are an easy way for them to get their daily activity from practices and games. But team sports are not for everybody and they're definitely not essential for exercise.
Let's dig into this a little deeper.
Vigorous physical activity means running, jumping, swimming or dancing fast and hard. The activity should result in a fast heart rate and brief shortness of breath. This is also called high intensity interval training or “HIIT”. High intensity intervals activity is powerful for brain function. When your child or a teen engages in vigorous physical activity, a surge of brain chemicals, norepinephrine and dopamine, are released into the brain. These neurochemicals directly effect areas of the brain responsible for ADHD symptoms. That is, after any type of high intensity interval, your child's brain is immediately prepared to focus, hold deeper and longer attention, control impulsive behaviors, and stay emotionally regulated for the next several hours.
If I had my say, all school systems would have PE as their first period every day.
I encourage you to incorporate physical activity into your child's daily life. Physical activities can be quite simple. Going for a walk and then sprinting every other block, jumping rope, doing jumping jacks - until they're out of breath- is all that is needed. You can even have a dance party in the morning before school begins. In fact, scientific studies have shown that morning physical activity results in better focus, attention, cognitive processing, and overall academic success.
I think this is so cool!
Think about how you can incorporate vigorous physical activities into your child’s or teen’s daily life. If you drive them to school, perhaps you can park a few blocks away and walk with them the rest of the way. Or, if visiting a friend for example, you can also park a few blocks away from their home and have a running race to your destination.
And for the best results, try to get some physical activity in nature! Being exposed to nature by simply being in the presence of trees and/or green space, can dramatically regulate one’s emotions, while naturally increasing awareness while improving ADHD symptoms.
Happy trails!
Share with me any questions or challenges that arise. I am always happy to hear from you!
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