Those of you who know me, have read my book Messengers in Denim, or follow my blog know I do not like treating ADHD with medications. The idea of giving stimulant medicine to kids who are not doing well in school is at best foolish! These are the kids most likely to use illegal drugs to get “high.” I know there are some studies which purport to show that kids who are given mood altering drugs (stimulants) have only a slightly higher chance of using street drugs. But, how can we promote using legal drugs to control behavior and emotions and not expect kids to continue to control their feelings with other drugs. It just doesn’t make sense!
A study released Oct 19, (strangely enough, my birthday) in the online version of The Journal of Pediatrics, shows that, “A single bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise may improve neurocognitive function and inhibitory control for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)….”
The study was done by Matthew B. Pontifex, Ph.D., from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and colleagues. They performed objective measures of attention, brain neurophysiology, and academic performance in 8-10 year olds after 20 minutes of exercise or 20 minutes of seated reading. Kids with known ADHD showed greater accuracy and stimulus-related processing after exercising. Both those with and without ADHD perform better in the areas of reading and arithmetic after exercise.
Other studies show that being out of doors, especially on green grass or in a green woods, also improves performance for kids with ADHD. Early and excessive TV watching also has been linked to ADHD. These studies tell us a lot about why more kids have ADHD now than had it a couple of generations ago when recesses were spent on the grassy playground, and there were few televisions.
I am at a loss to figure out why so many schools are eliminating outdoor recess and exercise. Of course it’s a lot easier to give a kid a pill than it is to take them for a hike in the woods or actually play with them out side.
I don’t want to leave you with the idea that all ADHD can be prevented or treated by unplugging the TV and taking your little angels out side, but that coupled with good and effective parenting would be helpful in many cases. It also could promote the good habit of exercise and improve kids general health.