ADHD in Children
Visual Abstract
Exercise Improves Behavioral, Neurocognitive, and Scholastic Performance in Children with ADHD
The Benefits of Exercise in ADHD
Matthew B Pontifex , Brian J Saliba, Lauren B Raine, Daniel L Picchietti, Charles H Hillman
Summarized by:
August 15, 2023
study source
J Pediatr
Mar 2013
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What they studied
Can a single exercise session lead to improvements in ADHD?
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What they found
Children who were given an exercise program performed better on cognitive testing. Children with ADHD were also better at regulating themselves.
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What this means
Athletics and regular exercise can improve ADHD symptoms in the classroom.
Exercise Improves Behavioral, Neurocognitive, and Scholastic Performance in Children with ADHD
Objectives
This study wanted to see whether a single short exercise session could improve ADHD symptoms among children with ADHD.
Exercise has been strongly linked to mental health in general. Could it also help with ADHD?
Study Quote
To examine the effect of a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on preadolescent children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using objective measures of attention, brain neurophysiology, and academic performance.
Methods
Researchers led children with and without ADHD on a short exercise program and evaluated whether they improved their attention and self-control after exercise.
Study Quote
Using a within-participants design, task performance and event-related brain potentials were assessed while participants performed an attentional-control task following a bout of exercise or seated reading during 2 separate, counterbalanced sessions.
Results
The results showed that children were more accurate on tests after exercise. Children with ADHD werealso better at regulating themselves.
Children with ADHD showed improvements in their ADHD symptoms after a single short exercise program
Children did better on cognitive and academic testing after exercise compared to tests before their exercise program. Children saw improvements regardless of their ADHD status:
Exercise helped children with and without ADHD perform more accurately on cognitive testing.
Additionally, those with ADHD were more likely to take time to think after exercise. This suggests that exercise improved self-control and restraint among children with ADHD:
Those with ADHD were more likely to take time to think after making mistakes if they exercised.
Study Quote
Following a single 20-minute bout of exercise, both children with ADHD and healthy match control children exhibited greater response accuracy and stimulus-related processing, with the children with ADHD also exhibiting selective enhancements in regulatory processes, compared with after a...
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Conclusions
These results suggest that children with ADHD were better at inhibiting themselves and were more efficient at problem-solving, after just one period of exercise:
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That is, utilizing objective measures to assess the effect of exercise on aspects of cognition, these findings suggest that both children with ADHD and healthy match-control children exhibit overall enhancements in inhibitory control and the allocation of attentional resources, coupled with a selective enhancement in stimulus classification and processing speed, following a single 20 minute bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.
Unfortunately, children with ADHD are also less likely to participate in sports and exercise programs. This research suggests the importance of exercise and physical activity for children with ADHD. It can improve their ADHD symptoms along with their physical health:
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Given that previous research has observed that children with ADHD are less likely to participate in vigorous physical activity and organized sports relative to children without ADHD (80), the current findings suggest that motivating children with ADHD to be physically active may have positive implications for aspects of neurocognitive function and inhibitory control.
These results are consistent with a later study that found that children assigned to an exercise program experienced significant improvements in their executive function.
Study Quote
These findings indicate that single bouts of moderately intense aerobic exercise may have positive implications for aspects of neurocognitive function and inhibitory control in children with ADHD.