
The Effect of Physical Exercise on the Concentration of Individuals with ADHD - romefort
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372555/
======
rlonstein
Personal anecdote, I can thank a country doctor and my elementary school
teachers for recognizing this back in the 70's: I was sent to school with a
thermos of coffee and permission to go to the gym and run until I could
compose myself.

~~~
lloeki
Personal anecdote: people (incl. doctors) laugh at me when I say I may (within
3-sigma) have ADHD, either because "that's for kids only", or because "it's
just a myth and I should get my act together and quit being lazy". I have no
hope of getting any form of medication for my condition.

I was lucky enough to discover a few sports (snowboarding, rollerskating,
climbing) at the right time i my life that managed, unbeknownst to me, to get
me through the parts of life where I needed the most focus (incl. my degree).
Things went downhill when I started to work and got a car, which dramatically
reduced my physical activity, up until I picked myself up and went running,
then skateboarding. This changed my quality of life on so many levels:
although I still get both periods of numbness and hyperfocus, the positive
feedback loops are much more frequent and negative feedback loops much less
so. I still have to take great conscious care about not exerting (physically
or mentally) myself too much because there seems to be no warning telling me
"hey this is too much" and I regularly wear myself out. Still, I now have
control over my life, but the fact that all of this I had to find myself early
in my 30s and _still get scorned at to this day_ is terrible: how many are
being cast away as either unruly or lazy and left to their own devices?

~~~
DanBC
> Personal anecdote: people (incl. doctors) laugh at me when I say I may
> (within 3-sigma) have ADHD, either because "that's for kids only", or
> because "it's just a myth and I should get my act together and quit being
> lazy". I have no hope of getting any form of medication for my condition.

If those are UK doctors I politely urge you to complain.

Otherwise, try showing them this:
[https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg72/resources/cg72-attenti...](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg72/resources/cg72-attention-
deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd-full-guideline-2)

~~~
lloeki
In a country where the first non-native language, which happens to be English,
is typically studied for more that 10 years and is completely unable to
produce a significant amount of people able to even read it, I fear that a
technical document written in such a foreign language will only receive the
Stare of False Approval followed by the Shrug of Dismissal.

† Notwithstanding the courage of our teachers and all, this country††'s
education system is a complete failure, and those that shine do so in spite of
it, not thanks to it.

†† I can't even come to terms with calling it "my country" anymore due to
recent events regarding mass surveillance, that go against everything I hold
forth and cherished about France, inherited since _le Siècle des Lumières_.

------
kendallpark
I have ADHD and I have always performed better in school during sports
seasons. I was undiagnosed through college and used a variety of techniques
including exercise to focus on school work.

I prefer tactile sports such as football and rugby. Running is very boring, as
are repetitive sports like throwing (I threw hammer and disc). Softball was
always too slow paced for me. I'd be caught staring into space in the
outfield.

I think ADHD was not as big an issue when jobs/daily life involved more
physical labor and tactile experiences. Nowadays most "important" jobs consist
of sitting in front of a computer for eight hours. That doesn't do any favors
for us ADHD folks. I know medication has made a world of difference for me. I
don't think I'd be able to handle a 9-to-5 programming job without it.

~~~
aidenn0
How long have you been on medication? I've considered going back on
medication, but my understanding is that many people build up tolerance to it
very quickly.

~~~
kendallpark
Only a couple of years. I had dextro but I'm trying out Vyvanse. I'm pretty
paranoid about dependency on drugs (I don't even drink caffeine on a regular
basis for that reason) so I understand your concern. I take the minimum dose
necessary to achieve the desired effect and only on days that I need it (when
I'm particularly restless and fidgety). I don't take it on the weekend,
generally.

~~~
robwilliams
I was on Vyvanse for 3 years and I never had any dependence or tolerance
issues. Quitting was equally as easy. I think the long-lasting pills help
separate the euphoric feelings from the actual action of taking the pill,
opposite of Adderall which you take 2 or 3 times a day.

------
late2part
I've found that kids with attention deficits (diagnosed or not) tend to be
able to talk and focus better when they can move around. Try right now to
describe something at the far side of the room without pushing your head or
using your hands. Communication and interpretation is more than just verbal.

~~~
hgibbs
I have adhd and have noticed that some of my own behaviours fit this
characterisation.

1) I typically pace when talking on the phone

2) In general, going for a walk is a really good way to clear my mind.

3) I will walk around a lot, and quickly, when I am anxious.

4) It is easier for me to sleep when there is rain or a fan on in my room. Any
kind of white noise.

5) When I need to think about something particularly abstract, I will take a
shower. Going through the routines of cleaning my hair, using soap etc, all
while having the physical stimulation of water falling on my back, helps to
get me in a very focused and 'zen' state.

~~~
late2part
Have you ever tried meditation? I wonder if it would influence how you handle
yourself. I think your behaviors are fine, I'm not judging or suggesting you
change, but I wonder how it would help.

~~~
hgibbs
Well my behaviours aren't obtrusive, if thats what you mean, and I am fine
with them, considering that.

I have tried meditation and yoga, but I could never get the motivation
required to build a habit. One of the main problems with meditation is that it
is all about stillness, which can be very hard for somebody with ADHD! I mean,
relatively speaking, a shower is a bit like a form of meditation for me, so
maybe people of ADHD do practice a form of meditation by engaging in these
activities.

~~~
sls
You can do walking meditation. Once you have a basis in concentration
practice, it's just about continually returning to awareness of the present
moment.

It's common to alternate sitting and walking meditation during extended
sessions, to my knowledge both in south-east Asia and in Japan.

~~~
hgibbs
Huh, I guess I should look into it more.

------
Strom
_The results of this study also show that the GC group has a performance that
is 42% better than the GC-EF group. These data seem indicate that after an
intense physical exercise, people without ADHD show impairment in attention
performance._

This is the more interesting finding to me and conflicts with my personal
experience. Maybe I just haven't been diagnosed for ADHD yet? However if it is
true then this raises an interesting problem. Exercise is no longer a
universal booster - you have to be damn sure that you're deep in ADHD, because
if you're 40% ADHD and 60% normal, then exercise actually does more harm than
good, according to the results of this study.

In general, this study seems very limited in scope and participant count. A
worthwhile study for sure, but I think it warrants additional research above
anything else, and nothing conclusive should be taken from it.

~~~
themartorana
I'd rather ignore this and just concentrate on the confirmation bias provided
by the conclusion. In other news, I'm pretty sure I have ADHD.

No seriously. Having been diagnosed with ADHD years ago, I found the
conclusion fantastic and confirming, and then parent's point stress inducing.
I'm hoping I'm at least 51% ADHD.

~~~
Retra
Having read hundreds of internet posts describing anecdotal symptoms of ADHD,
I can confirm nothing about what ADHD actual is or whether or not I have it.
ADHD is, as far as I can tell, a condition whereby a person exhibits habits of
some kind and feels the need to either judge themselves or not.

Granted, I am not a doctor, but I have yet to meet a person that I've felt has
the apparently superhuman diagnostic abilities required to identify ADHD.

So I wouldn't worry about it either way. Live your life and try not to die or
be unhappy.

~~~
_bdog
It shows you're not a doctor, but you're right: it's complicated condition
(maybe even "configuration") and on top of that it's hard to diagnose in
adults, because they tend to have formed habits around this condition.

There's a crude test though: Take (a small dose) of Ritalin, Adderall or other
stimulant that increases activity in the striatum and see:

* Do you mainly feel sweaty, agitated and super-alert: probably no ADHD.

* Do you feel like you're able to think properly for the first time in your life or get sleepy even -> hints to ADHD.

~~~
Retra
I'm not willing to say that ADHD is a fabrication or anything. I'm just
somewhat skeptical that it could be diagnosed without long term observations.
(In lieu of self-reported descriptions of symptoms.)

Your crude test really is crude, though: by itself, it invents a condition to
match the result of the application of a drug. You could do the same with any
drug: "You have VPFP if you use [insert drug here] and feel it improves your
life, and you don't otherwise. Let's start writing prescriptions to treat
VPFP."

------
netcraft
Another recent study showing that fidgeting and moving helps concentration in
ADD children:
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150417190003.ht...](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150417190003.htm)

~~~
pbhjpbhj
My personal experience [long term volunteer with kids groups, as a child and
as a parent] has been that most younger kids (<11) can't sit still for long.

I sat next to a lad in an informal setting recently (watching a martial arts
class), his mother kept nagging him to sit still, not make a noise, etc.. I
felt so sorry for him, he could easily have stood at the side and tried to
mimic the older childrens movements, or just danced around for a bit, or
played a game with his mum. When she told him off for raspberrying I really
wanted to start just to show it wasn't inappropriate (it wasn't a quiet
segment of the class); social inhibition prevented me. I find that my kids
primary school teachers have a similar attitude, they're all female, they seem
particularly bothered by some types of "unruly" behaviour which is primarily
from the boys. Is there a biological divide between the sexes here too? [On
the basis of the above linked study abstract, do more boys have ADHD than
girls, is it a spectrum disorder?]

When I pick up my youngest (5-6yo) from school the boys are almost all
[always] playing chase around the playground whilst the girls are almost all
[always] chatting quietly and standing with their parents (mainly mothers).
Mothers of boys seem to tell the boys off for running around, whilst the [far
fewer] dads do not.

~~~
smorrow
"do more boys have ADHD than girls"

It's a fact that more boys than girls are diagnosed, but I've noticed that
/r/adhd seems overwhelmingly female. I dunno, though, maybe it's just that
people are more likely to be talking womanly on a mental disorder site.
(They're more likely to be talking about their feelings, for one thing.) And a
tendency to associate Facebooky spelling ("isnt",etc) with females might be
unfair on my part.

"teachers have a similar attitude, they're all female, they seem particularly
bothered by some types of 'unruly' behaviour. Is there a biological divide
between the sexes here too?"

Don't get me started... I have ADD, so it's hard for me to write a short
comment.

In my life, pretty much all the women teachers have been big into rules for
the sake of rules, and applying rules with no thought on the actual point of
the rule. I can't really think of any reason for more women than men to be
sensors rather than intuitives (most _people_ are sensors), but I suppose
there could be a reason for more women _teachers_ to be sensors than men
_teachers_ , or rather, for less men teachers to be sensors than the general
population. I conjecture that that reason is: men who become teachers do it
because they want to talk about equations and right-angle triangles all day,
which is an intuitive trait. I want to be a teacher and that's the main
reason.

(And women don't need a special _reason_ to want to be a teacher... not the
way men do, anyway.)

------
rjshayes
Interesting -- this study referenced another which focused on the effects of
color on individuals with and without ADHD
([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21854630/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21854630/)).
The game was designed for and taken from study for use in this one -- the
results were nearly the same. The other study came back with similar results
due to the structure of the game favoring ADHD individuals for level 1 and
favoring individuals without ADHD for level 2.

 _The results in the original study were nearly the same proportionally and
the game was found to favor the performance of an individual with ADHD._

The linked study, in fact, goes on to misrepresent the study it references in
stating it was conducted "to quantify the performance of people with ADHD
characteristics," when in fact the study stated it was conducted to describe
"the development and the testing of a virtual environment that is capable to
quantify the influence of red-green versus blue-yellow colour stimuli on the
performance of people."

The referenced study concluded: "The game proved to be a user-friendly tool
capable to detect and quantify the influence of color on the performance of
people executing tasks that require attention and showed to be attractive for
people with ADHD"

------
schalab
Physical exercise is generally repetitive,boring and requires discipline to
stick to.

It could be that forcing someone to overrule their impulses for a period of
time might be the solution, rather than the exercise itself.

I would ask for a control group who are forced to do some boring, repetitive
activity without physical exertion like meditation and see if the results are
mirrored.

~~~
mse11028
Wow it's like we're from different planets. I'd never describe exercise as
"repetitive, boring and requires discipline". For me it's an urge and it's fun
to do.

~~~
greggman
Lucky for you. For others of us I'd rather do almost anything else. I'd rather
clean the house, do dishes, anything other than exercise. Yea, I force myself
to do it but I'm massively bored and can't wait to get on to whatever I really
want to be doing.

I'd love to know some secret sauce other than luck to head into actually
enjoying to exercise.

~~~
titanomachy
The secret sauce is _intensity_. The idea that I could be bored while
exercising intensely is absurd to me because all my resources, mental and
otherwise, are required just to maintain the pace that I set for myself. When
I'm close to the edge of what I can tolerate, I take a rest interval, then
ramp up the intensity again before I have a chance to get bored.

~~~
greggman
I don't like the pain of working out at all. So intensity doesn't make me not
bored it just makes me want it stop as soon as possible. So no, that's not the
secret sauce for me. Glad it works for you.

~~~
titanomachy
Fair enough. In my experience the sensation of intense exercise is similar to,
but distinct from, the sensation of pain. I appreciate that people might
experience this differently.

------
falcolas
Unmedicated, regularly attending school, able to focus for at least five
minutes on a videogame, and:

> volunteers with notably good grades in all subjects, without reports about
> behavior problems and a good social life at school and at home.

That seems like a relatively mild case of ADHD.

[EDIT: Quote applies to control group, as pointed out by andreasvc. The first
three points appear to still stand.]

I'm also wondering how the resulting GC and GE values from "Performance of
groups in the whole game" figure are so different, considering that part of
the selection process was being able to complete the level in 600 seconds,
±5%.

On a side note, this was very interesting:

> These data seem indicate that after an intense physical exercise, people
> without ADHD show impairment in attention performance.

~~~
bitexploder
I definitely had problems with ADHD, and still do to some extent. I was
listening to a book, The Sports Gene, and the touched on exercise and
attention deficit. A proposed theory is that in the attention deficit brain
you don't have enough dopamine. Exercise produces the dopamine you need to get
to "normal". Therefore, exercise for some people is very rewarding and helps
them out a lot. In other individuals who already have normal levels of
dopamine it is a very "meh" experience for them, maybe even counter
productive. They don't get the boost of dopamine as strongly since they
already had "enough" to function well. And, since they had to endure,
potentially higher, cognitive load to do the exercise its a net negative for
them. Anyway, I don't know if this mechanism explains all of it, but
anecdotally this matches extremely well with my experience.

Later in life I have come to rely on routine physical exercise as it keeps me
on an even keel and productive. Caffeine and Ritalin both just made me go into
the zone just the same way hard exercise does. I find that if I do not
exercise hard and regular I have a hard time staying productive and I might
seek towards other dopamine producing behaviors (Alcohol, junk foods). I have
found a middle ground of moderate exercise, but it is never as fulfilling as
being full tilt into a training cycle.

edit: Found a quote from the author of The Sports Gene:

"Here at Axon Sports, we talk a lot about the brain’s role in playing sports.
From vision to perception to decision making to emotions, the brain plays a
critical role in sports success. What have we learned about neurogenetics that
can influence an athlete’s performance from a cognitive perspective?

DE: One of the most surprising things I learned in my reporting was that
scientists know quite well that not only does the dopamine system in the
brain—which is involved in the sense of pleasure and reward—respond to
physical activity, but it can also drive physical activity.

One of the scientists I quote in the book suggests that this may be why very
active children who take Ritalin, which alters dopamine levels, suddenly have
less drive to move around. That’s precisely what he sees when he gives Ritalin
to the rodents he breeds for high voluntary running, anyway. And it appears
that different versions of genes involved in the dopamine system influence the
drive to be active. (Interestingly, native populations that are nomadic and
that migrate long distances tend to have a higher prevalence of a particular
dopamine receptor gene; the same one that predisposes people to ADHD. I
discuss in the book the possible link.) "

------
ChrisNorstrom
For 2 months now, an alarm clock program alerts me every hour to do 1-2
minutes of quick but high intensity exercises. That's every hour. The benefits
are amazing. I'm amazed at how many of my problems went away. I now get to
sleep on time, wake up feeling rested, do not toss and turn during sleep, have
a healthy appetite, gained muscle, hair loss stopped, and I cut down on
procrastinating and my focus has drastically increased. Who knows how many
pills I would have been prescribed had I told my doctor about my problems.

I saw most results within 24 hours, others after only 4 days.

~~~
lucaspiller
What sort of stuff do you do, is it similar to steps in the '7 minute workout'
type things? Do you have an app or just alarms set throughout the day?

------
sandstrom
Would be interesting to know how long the effect lasts, e.g. will 1h, 12h or
24h between the physical exercise and the test make a difference.

If it's say ~8 hours, then scheduling gym classes in the beginning of school
days may help these children. If it's 1h it won't matter much, as long as gym
isn't at the end of a school day.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
In countries that do calisthenics at the start of the school day are there
less problems with hyperactivity, and diagnosed disorders with that symptom?

------
chubot
Exercise helps a ton with depression too. And probably anxiety, though I don't
have any direct experience.

I think it's no exaggeration to say that richer countries have been
experiencing a rise in mental health issues, and that is in a large part,
although not entirely, due to sedentary lifestyles.

~~~
DanBC
> Exercise helps a ton with depression too.

It probably doesn't.

[http://www.cochrane.org/CD004366/DEPRESSN_exercise-for-
depre...](http://www.cochrane.org/CD004366/DEPRESSN_exercise-for-depression)

> When only high-quality trials were included, exercise had only a small
> effect on mood that was not statistically significant.

> Exercise is moderately more effective than no therapy for reducing symptoms
> of depression.

> Exercise is no more effective than antidepressants for reducing symptoms of
> depression, although this conclusion is based on a small number of studies.

> Exercise is no more effective than psychological therapies for reducing
> symptoms of depression, although this conclusion is based on small number of
> studies.

> The reviewers also note that when only high-quality studies were included,
> the difference between exercise and no therapy is less conclusive.

> Attendance rates for exercise treatments ranged from 50% to 100%.

> The evidence about whether exercise for depression improves quality of life
> is inconclusive.

You say

> I think it's no exaggeration to say that richer countries have been
> experiencing a rise in mental health issues, and that is in a large part,
> although not entirely, due to sedentary lifestyles.

What makes you think this? Plenty of very active people suffer depression and
anxiety. There are a couple of sports people who have talked about their
depression. You may have the causal link reversed - depression lowers ability
to do stuff, and so depression causes inactivity. That's at least plausible.

~~~
austinjp
The Cochrane report says the evidence for exercise as an intervention to
improve depression is "inconclusive", whereas you say it "probably doesn't"
help, which isn't the same thing.

The various reviews of exercise-based interventions illustrate how complex it
can be to implement trials and interpret their results.

Frankly I'd encourage exercise in a depressed patient, rather than say it
"probably doesn't help". There are numerous other benefits that could probably
outweigh risks (although these should obviously be assessed on a case-by-case
basis) and interventions should seek to minimise nocebo as well as maximise
placebo -- ethically of course. It just might work for that patient, and
actually that is a perfectly rational basis for treatment sometimes.

~~~
DanBC
> When only high-quality trials were included, exercise had only a small
> effect on mood that was not statistically significant.

That seems pretty clear.

> There are numerous other benefits

Yes, recommend exercise because it is undoubtedly a good thing. Just don't
recommend it as a treatment for depression, because "exercise [has] only a
small effect on mood that [is] not statistically significant."

~~~
kbutler
Given a choice between exercise with questionable effectiveness and lots of
good side effects, and anti-depressant drugs with questionable effectiveness
and lots of negative side effects, I'd certainly try exercise, particularly in
less-severe cases, where anti-depressant drugs do no better than a placebo.

[http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2011/antidepressants-...](http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2011/antidepressants-
a-complicated-picture.shtml)

~~~
DanBC
Good thing I'm not pushing for medication either. Front line treatment is a
talking therapy, probably CBT. Or, for moderate or severe depression the
recommendation is a talking therapy and medication.

Doubts about medication are weaker when the depression is more severe btw

Your link repeats some things I've said (untreated suicide carries a risk of
suicide; "In more severe forms of depression, antidepressants show greater
efficacy." Etc)

------
aswanson
I've never been diagnosed with ADHD but im pretty sure im on the spectrum. Did
some Insanity this morning with the wife and noticed how much it enabled me to
focus afterward and how it mitigated my desire for a drink, which I use for
the same effect. I highly recommend regular physical exercise.

~~~
Ocerge
As I get older, I'm definitely beginning to notice some ADHD symptoms
(inability to concentrate at work, can't fall asleep without some kind of
white noise, don't know what to do with myself at home after work, etc). I'm
also discovering that the only things that help to center me are exercise and
coffee.

------
RA_Fisher
This graph feels a bit fishy and / or more interesting than the presented
result:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372555/bin/pone...](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372555/bin/pone.0122119.g007.jpg)

GE = w/ ADHD GE-EF = w/ ADHD and exercise

GC = w/o ADHD GC-EF = w/o ADHD and exercise

Look how poorly GC-EF performed relative to the other groups in absolute
terms. There's visually a much larger difference in concentration for those
without ADHD, but who exercised than those that didn't exercise.

If we were to focus on the largest difference of effect shouldn't our
conclusion be, 'Intense exercise can make the attention of people without ADHD
worse than those with ADHD'?

This is what the authors say, "The results of this study also show that the GC
group has a performance that is 42% better than the GC-EF group. These data
seem indicate that after an intense physical exercise, people without ADHD
show impairment in attention performance. However, this hypothesis requires
further studies, which include the assessment of the duration of this effect."

Hmmm ..., color me a skeptical statistician.

------
lloydde
Interesting methodology. I've used John J. Ratey's 2008 book Spark:
Revolutionary New Science of Exercise & the Brain to regularly remind myself,
for my own health, of numerous ways exercise has been demonstrated to help
mental health including its place in my anxiety and depression toolbox.

------
conradfr
Anecdotal : I have diagnosed ADD and started lifting (starting strength) some
month ago. At first I felt some benefits, I would say almost the same feeling
as with Ritalin, but it's almost already gone by now.

I should do more cardio to see if it's the same.

~~~
smorrow
I take it you're predominantly inattentive (you omit the letter H). I see on
the ADHD web sites they always advocate exercise, and I dismiss it out of hand
every time as something I don't think would apply to me. I tend to think of
the typical /r/ADHDer as being quite different from me, and not someone that I
would even like, really.

So you're saying that that stuff applies for inattentives too?

~~~
aidenn0
Exercise has a _huge_ benefit for me, and I am PI as well.

Benefits to the point that my wife will bend over backwards to find time for
me to exercise, completely out of selfish reasons.

------
kevinwang
Is Prince of Persia a commonly used test for measuring concentration?

~~~
cshimmin
They had potential volunteers play PoP for 5 min as part of a screening
process, to select individuals that wouldn't have problems playing a similar
videogame. The actual game they used was called "Raiders of the Lost
Treasure", cited as:

    
    
        11. Silva AP, Frère AF Virtual environment to quantify the influence of colour stimuli on the performance of tasks requiring attention. Biomed Eng Online. 2011; 10:74 doi: 10.1186/1475-925X-10-7421854630
    

With a link to the article:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201025/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201025/)

------
stretchwithme
I think this is because blood moving at higher speeds and pressure gets
nutrients to cells that don't always get all the nutrients they need. And it
also removes waste products better, like a power washer removes dirt from your
car better than just pouring water over it.

------
rkangel
While this study agrees with everything I know from anecdotal evidence, it's
not an enormous sample size. Two groups of 28 people each doesn't provide an
enormous amount of statistical evidence.

------
_bdog
For my ADHD a combination of ritalin, a LOT of sport (martial arts) and
playing the piano did wonders. About a year of the sport and I've managed to
lower my dose by about 50%.

~~~
henryaj
What sort of martial arts did you do?

~~~
cel1ne
Silat. Seni Gayung Fatani to be exact.

3 times a week for an hour at least in the evening.

Apart from the fact that exercise always help I think it's the structured,
controlled breathing you have to do, that helps to focus.

------
cel1ne
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontostriatal_circuit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontostriatal_circuit)

------
piratebroadcast
TL:DR: "Conclusion: This study confirms the hypothesis of Medina et al. and
Koehl et al.: intense physical exercise improves the attention of children and
adolescents with ADHD symptoms. Physical exercise may be helpful for their
learning because attention is essential to the school performance of any
individual.

Physical exercises help improve children's attention and provide greater
impulse control; these additional effects appear almost immediately, as
confirmed in this study, which helps the concentration of children with ADHD."

------
bootload
just back from pt, first article read - time to do some work.

------
xwintermutex
But wait... how can the pharma industry profit from this?

~~~
dragonwriter
> But wait... how can the pharma industry profit from this?

By researching the mechanism that makes exercise work, understanding the
biochemical basis, and developing a shortcut that triggers the same
biochemical effect without actually requiring working out.

------
hasenj
Am I the only one who finds it difficult to mentally concentrate on a task
after physical exercise? I feel like all my energy has been spent and there's
not much (glucose?) left for my brain to function at higher levels of
abstractions.

~~~
bitexploder
Exercising, especially at your limits, drains mental energy from the same
bucket as hard thought about say, math problems. In addition you are burning
energy. Your bucket of cognitive energy is only so big. I think if you have
already normal levels of dopamine and endorphins the rush of them after
exercise doesn't do very much for you.

For the ADHD brain, which lacks a normal level of dopamine the exercise
intensity is offset by the production of dopamine. For me, hard exercise, a
proper recovery period of about an hour (nutrition, relaxing) and I enter a
period of high productivity for about 4-5 hours. I can intensely focus in this
time. After that I have to move around some more (it's also later in the
afternoon then when many people are getting a little tired anyway). I can
usually settle in to deal with lower cognitive load tasks after that (easier
coding, email, report writing, et.) for a few hours.

~~~
federico3
Citation needed.

~~~
bitexploder
Agreed. It's not a complete wild-ass-guess, though.

So, I draw from a couple of resources. From the Lore of Running, by Tim Noakes
(a well respected exercise physiologist) he discusses the mental energy
required to stick with a training program that involves hard workouts. He
notes it is a pretty well observed phenomenon for him (and many others), that
doing thinking tasks on hard workout days can be harder. His example was
writing and his research work in the midst of training hard.

From Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman shows how the brain sort of
"crashes" when glucose levels fall. He also discusses how we have this finite
bucket of cognitive energy and I don't think it is a stretch to say that
working out hard drains that bucket. There is enough anecdotal data that
supports this at a high level.

And finally, in the book The Sports Gene I was introduced to some fascinating
studies in rodents.

"Here at Axon Sports, we talk a lot about the brain’s role in playing sports.
From vision to perception to decision making to emotions, the brain plays a
critical role in sports success. What have we learned about neurogenetics that
can influence an athlete’s performance from a cognitive perspective? DE: One
of the most surprising things I learned in my reporting was that scientists
know quite well that not only does the dopamine system in the brain—which is
involved in the sense of pleasure and reward—respond to physical activity, but
it can also drive physical activity. One of the scientists I quote in the book
suggests that this may be why very active children who take Ritalin, which
alters dopamine levels, suddenly have less drive to move around. That’s
precisely what he sees when he gives Ritalin to the rodents he breeds for high
voluntary running, anyway. And it appears that different versions of genes
involved in the dopamine system influence the drive to be active.
(Interestingly, native populations that are nomadic and that migrate long
distances tend to have a higher prevalence of a particular dopamine receptor
gene; the same one that predisposes people to ADHD. I discuss in the book the
possible link.) "

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21676789](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21676789)
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3441939/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3441939/)

I think you can coherently weave these together to get a picture of how hard
exercise can benefit someone with ADHD. Maybe the mechanisms aren't correct,
but the end result is pretty clear to me.

