Does Exercise Help ADHD? | What Exercise is Best for ADHD?
Have you heard the exercise is quite possibly the most effective non-medicative way to treat your ADHD?
(If you’ve been around here long enough, there’s a good chance you heard that fun fact from me.)
Have you wondered why that is or if it’s even true? I did! Which is why I wanted to discuss how exercise affects ADHD as well as what exercise is best for ADHD as part of my ADHD Healthy Habits series to kick off 2024.
You can also check out my other episodes about ADHD and Eating and ADHD and Sleep.
I wanted to make these ADHD Healthy Habits episodes because I truly believe that YOU are the most important asset to your household and your business. Keeping you healthy and operating optimally is key to running your home and your business smoothly.
So let’s go ahead and dive into today’s topic…ADHD and Exercise.
How Does Exercise Affect ADHD?
First off, exercise is an outlet for your energy. This may be especially important for those of us with the hyperactive type ADHD. If you ever feel like you’re bursting at the seams with pent up energy, it may be because your body needs more movement to burn it off. This may be especially important for children with ADHD.
(And I can tell you as a mom of an ADHD child who was like a kitten who drank a Monster energy drink stuck in a tiny cage after being stuck inside for 5 days during winter break, this is VERY true! 🤪)
Exercise also encourages your brain to release neurotransmitters like dopamine. And since we get that all important shot of dopamine, people with ADHD that exercise or move their bodies regularly may see improvement in their executive function like planning, organizing, focus, and time management.
Exercise can also help to normalize your brain-derived neurotropic factor or BDNF for short. BDNF is a key molecule in the brain that affects learning and memory. It does this by helping to preserve already existing nerve cells and encouraging the growth of new nerve cells or neuroplasticity, meaning you actually can teach an old dog new tricks. And there are studies that suggest that there is an association between BDNF levels and ADHD.
A 2016 study found that aerobic exercise or movement that gets your heart rate elevated can increase the BDNF concentrations in your body. Meaning by exercising, you are strengthening existing neural pathways and any new neural pathways that you are trying to create, especially those that relate to learning and memory.
In addition, since exercise releases endorphins, regular movement can also help those of us with ADHD that struggle with comorbid conditions like depression or anxiety. In fact, a 2019 study that included more that 600K adults found enhancing physical activity may be an effective prevention strategy for depression.
And a final exercise benefit for those of us with ADHD is that help to improve our sleep, which I know many of us ADHDers, including myself struggle with. Regular physical activity can help improve sleep patterns for those who suffer from insomnia or struggle to fall asleep. It can also help to improve the quality of your sleep, making sure you get plenty of that slow wave or deep sleep which is the quietest and most restful phase of sleep.
If you’d like more tips on sleep tips, click below to read or watch my episode on ADHD and Sleep…
What Exercise is Best for ADHD?
Ok…so if you’re seeing the benefits of moving your body, what should you be doing. Is there a particular type of exercise that’s better for someone with ADHD? The shorter answer is no.
To achieve the benefits of boosting your dopamine, BDNF, and endorphins for all those benefits we just discussed, you simply need to elevate your heart rate for at least 10-20 minutes to the point where you are breathing harder and you sweat.
This could be dancing in your living room or taking a cross fit class.
It could be taking a walk in a park or walking up and down the stairs at your home or work.
You could join a sports team at your local rec center or start a ping pong league with your friends.
There is no one way to exercise for those of us with ADHD in order to receive it’s benefits. If it elevates your heart rate to where you are breathing harder and you sweat, even just a little, for at least 10-20 minutes on a regular basis.
In fact, I highly recommend that you change it up. Because our ADHD brains love new, fresh, and interesting. It makes it much easier for us to stick to if we are interested or excited about it.
I personally am a HUGE fan of YouTube fitness channels because I never get bored. Some days I do weight lifting, some days I do HIIT, and some days I find fun dance workouts like Broadway dance, Zumba, or Hip Hop Fit (and no, there is no video of this late-40s white girl doing hip hop…sorry 🤣).
I do have some pretty awesome playlists to share if you need some inspiration:
Another way to keep yourself consistent would be to find a workout buddy. Maybe not for every day, but asking a family member or a friend to go on a walk with you before the kids wake up or meet at the gym for a class creates that all important accountability that helps to keep us ADHDers motivated.
You could also consider hiring a personal trainer for an added bit of accountability. Because if you’re like me, paying is a great way to motivate me to follow through. Most of the time. 😉
And if you’re thinking you may need a trainer or coach for areas of your life beyond exercise, I’d love to help you out. My goal as an executive function and accountability coach for ADHD mom business owners is to keep you following through and on track to build the successful business you know is possible while juggling your busy family life.
To learn more about my programs and discuss your goals, click below to schedule your free, no-obligation call with me.
