Found a link to another article in the sidebar:
Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Category or a Continuum? Genetic Analysis of a Large-Scale Twin Study <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9183127/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9183127/</a><p>Their conclusion: "These findings suggest that ADHD is best viewed as the extreme of a behavior that varies genetically throughout the entire population rather than as a disorder with discrete determinants."<p>As someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD, this seems like a more natural explanation. If 5-10% of the population allegedly have a disorder, then maybe the "disorder" is in fact just the tail end of a normal genetic distribution. Doesn't mean that the condition is "made up" or that those people don't deserve some kind of treatment, of course.
As someone with ADHD, I've noticed that I can stick to a schedule and control my symptoms throughout the day by exercising first thing in the morning. I'll run to work and for the first portion of the day, I can focus effortlessly, and after a short workout or bit of cardio at lunch I can extend that a little bit into the afternoon. It's vastly helped my mood and my ability to maintain an even keel.<p>I'm happy to see this posted, it's always been told to me that exercise is as or more important than my medication or organizational skills when it comes to managing my disorder, and when I can get myself to stick to it, it's a pretty amazing difference
As someone recently diagnosed with ADHD(Inattentive) I've worked through years of misdiagnosis directed towards depression. I adopted the sport of Ultra-running years ago and with that extreme amount of exercise I've seen benefits and unlocked potential others have without difficulty.<p>There's obvious connections to exercise levels and my overall health, but with the depression it never resolved it. Only recently we found the ADHD diagnosis through reduced running, then tracking all symptoms and doing a deeper analysis on how I interact and think. When you live your entire life struggling to focus you build patterns and tricks to fit in. Turns out these are super bizarre when you speak them out-loud for someone to hear for the first time. I recently explained this break through as similar to how we all do some specific behavior such as sanitary cleaning after a bowel movement, but no one actually talks about their process in detail to know how different we all are. Thinking and focus are sort of like that for me.<p>I'm seeing a lot of comments here that didn't maybe read the article and see how small an impact exercise has, especially compared to medication. After now taking medication for the I've been on a strong emotional ride realizing this correct diagnosis and prescription years ago would have greatly changed my life. With exercise back up to normal levels again I'm seeing 90% improvement by medication is in no way replaceable with running 120 miles a week for a 10-20% improvement.<p>As I'm now working on finding a plan to reduce and then quit the medication these studies are fascinating for me to potentially know the upper limits each coping mechanism provides. This might make me consider quitting my sport and only contributing enough effort to maximize the return so I can then pick up other habits for a greater duration.<p>To anyone else suffering through inattentive ADHD I wish you the best.
ADHD or not, “if your brain is tired make your body tired, too” is a good idea.<p>It’s not for ecology that I prefer to be a bicycle commuter; my reasons are much more selfish.
<a href="https://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/gender/" rel="nofollow">https://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/gende...</a><p>“Evidence suggests that the prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or hyperkinetic disorder (HKD), is greater in males than females.”<p>A more plausible explanation is that those doing the diagnosing are female teachers who perceive the more naturally boisterous play of young males as symptomatic of a mental disorder.
I'm not sure about the long term, but it's working pretty well immediately after exercise.<p>I'm WFH these days, and follow a relatively flexible schedule, so basically every day whenever I find it is hard to concentrate as usual I would go downstairs and have a 15mins running. Then I can focus for quite a while. I usually do this two to three times a day.
Spark [1], the book talks about same in details. I enjoyed reading it.<p>[1]: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain Paperback – 1 January 2013
by John J. Ratey MD (Author), Eric Hagerman