Exercise and ADHD

Can exercise help alleviate the effects of ADHD? (Part one)

Currently, medications, psychological counselling, and cognitive behavioral therapy (or a combination of these elements) form the conventional treatment for kids with ADHD. But what about exercise? Could exercise also help alleviate the effects of ADHD? To answer this question, a team of researchers analyzed scientific studies regarding the long and short-term effects of exercise as an intervention for kids struggling with mild to severe ADHD.

Here's what the researchers found:

“Acute (or intensive) exercise and regular physical activities can induce physiological and psychological mechanisms that not only promote physical and psychological health but also improve physiological and cognitive functions, including memory and executive function. Planned physical exercises are beneficial for executive function, emotional regulation, spatial memory, learning performance, mood development, and interpersonal relationships, and can induce structural and functional neuroplasticity in the brain.” [1]

In simpler terms, scientists found that systematic exercise programs and directed movements helped kids manage their minds and improved their physical and mental health simultaneously. Exercise helps kids organize and improve classwork and homework, manage mood swings, make and keep friends, and optimize their brains for learning.

Why does exercise have such dramatic impacts on kids with ADHD? 

Stay tuned for a scientific answer to this question in my next post.

But in the meantime, let’s make learning a treat by getting kids on their feet.

Visit The Academic Gym at www.theacademicgym.com , where we help schools deliver the science of reading through rhythmic athletic routines and multisensory analytical spelling.

#ADHD #Focus #Theacademicgym #TAG #activelearning

Effects of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1)