Parents, maybe it's time to put away the Ritalin and Adderall, and start bicycling with your kids to school!
An article in today's Atlantic called"Exercise is ADHD Medication" reports on new research published this morning in Pediatrics. This research will come as no surprise to those who have been reading my many blogs on exercise as an alternative to stimulant drugs for ADHD-type symptoms.
The research found that kids who took part in a regular physical activity program showed "important enhancement of cognitive performance and brain function." The findings, according to University of Illinois professor Charles Hillman and colleagues, "demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity for improving childhood cognition and brain health."
Hillman said:"Physical activity is clearly a high, high-yield investment for all kids, but especially those attentive or hyperactive... The improvements in this case came in executive control, which consists of inhibition (resisting distraction, maintaining focus), working memory, and cognitive flexibility (switching between tasks)." Another study, earlier this month, at Michigan state University found: "Early studies suggest that physical activity can have a positive effect on children who suffer from ADHD."
John Ratey, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, suggests that people think of exercise as "medication for ADHD." Even very light physical activity, says Ratey, improves mood and cognitive performance by triggering the brain to release dopamine and serotonin, similar to the way that stimulant medications like Adderall do. Ratey posted an interesting video on this topic on You Tube. Titled "Run, Jump, Learn," it's well worth watching.
If you missed my previous posts on the topic of exercise and improving cognitive skills, you can catch them here:
Why Physical Education is Important for Academic Skills
Can Walking to School cure ADHD?
Is Free Play Essential for Learning?
This direction of research is promising because it brings to light alternatives to pharmaceutical treatment of ADHD. Hopefully, this line of research will extend to childhood depression as well.
Copyright © Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D.
Marilyn Wedge is the author of Why French Kids don't have ADHD and a forthcoming book on ADHD in the United States and abroad.