Can Exercise Help Adult ADHD

Can exercise help men and women with ADHD better control their emotions and impulses and be less distracted? There’s evidence that it can. In one small study, researchers found that people with ADHD performed better on a task that required attention. The participants completed the same task while in a sitting and while walking at a moderately brisk pace on a treadmill.

The subjects who performed the task while walking had fewer errors and faster reaction times. But why? One theory is that adults with ADHD need more arousal to activate their attentional system to complete a task. Activity, such as walking on a treadmill, provides the extra stimulus they need to get a task done with fewer errors.

 Even people without ADHD claim that exercise clears their head and helps them deal with stress. However, physical activity may have special benefits for adults with ADHD. When you exercise, biochemical changes take place in the brain that helps alleviate the symptoms of ADHD. For example, research shows exercise boosts levels of a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, called dopamine. Some research suggests that ADHD symptoms arise from dysfunction in the brain’s dopamine system.

 But that’s not all. Exercise releases other hormones and neurotransmitters too, some of which are affected by ADHD prescription medications, like Ritalin. Therefore, exercise may mimic some of the effects of ADHD prescription drugs.

 Another known benefit of exercise is regular workouts increase levels of another protein called brain brain-derived neurotrophic factor. (BDNF). BDNF plays a key role in memory and learning, and people who have ADHD tend to have less of this chemical in their brain. BDNF also helps form new connections in the brain and may play a role in enhancing brain health.