Boosting focus on a budget: How mindfulness and exercise help kids with ADHD
Thursday, June 6, 2024.
As a marriage and family therapist who happens to do a lot of couples therapy, I'm often on the lookout for inexpensive and effective interventions for common issues like ADHD.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by excessive activity, impulsive behavior, and inattention.
While managing these symptoms can seem daunting, recent research highlights simple yet powerful strategies that can make a difference.
Quick Fixes for ADHD: Mindfulness and Exercise
Imagine if just 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation and 10 minutes of exercise could help children with ADHD. Well, it can! A study has shown that these brief activities can improve attention, self-efficacy, and mood in children with ADHD.
Dr. Barbara Fenesi, the study's co-author, explains:
“We want to identify behavioral approaches that could help manage ADHD symptoms for children and determine whether even a single, short bout of these behavioral approaches could be beneficial, rather than needing to engage in them for long periods of time.”
This small but significant study involved 16 children aged 10 to 14 who either practiced mindfulness and exercise for 10 minutes or read a book. The results? Both activities were particularly beneficial for reducing inattention.
Mindfulness vs. Exercise: Which is Better?
Dr. Fenesi continues:
“We also wanted to compare these two behavioral approaches to see if one was superior to the other, or whether they each contributed differently to unique aspects of well-being.”
The findings revealed that while mindfulness enhanced working memory, inhibitory control, and task-switching, exercise notably improved the children's mood. This underscores the connection between the mind and body, as Dr. Fenesi points out:
“Our study highlights how the mind and body are connected. In order to activate children’s intellectual minds, their bodies and mindful awareness must be activated to create an environment that’s conducive to learning.”
Breathing and Yoga for ADHD
Complementing this research, another study found that breathing exercises and yoga can also benefit children with ADHD.
These exercises, which focused on tension and relaxation, helped the children engage in complex activities with greater attention. The children were trained three times a week over two to three months, and the benefits were still evident six months later.
Final thoughts
Promoting Bootstrap Interventions
So, how can we promote these bootstrap interventions that are both effective and inexpensive? Here are some questions to ponder:
How can schools integrate short mindfulness and exercise sessions into their daily routines?
What role can parents play in encouraging these practices at home?
How can we raise awareness among healthcare providers about these simple yet effective strategies?
Let’s give these ideas some thought. We can better support children with ADHD and help them thrive both academically and socially. Let's harness the power of mindfulness and exercise to create a more focused, balanced, and happy environment for our kids.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology (Bigelow et al., 2021).. Thanks to Jeremy Dean at Psyblog for his help with my research.
