My final blog about the effects of exercise and mental health (for now at least) will be focused on ADHD. There are a lot of similarities between the causes of ADHD and other various mental health disorders. Just like with anxiety and depression the main culprits involved are our friend’s dopamine and norepinephrine. I won’t go into too much detail about these two neurotransmitters in this blog as I’ve talked about them in my previous 2 blogs about exercise, depression, and anxiety. But these are the 2 main neurohormones that are targeted by your typical ADHD medications or stimulants. This is also what the anti-depressant class SNRI’s target thus making some anti-depressants a good medication option for individuals who are unable or are hesitant to take stimulants.

According to ADDitudemag.com, it is estimated that there are 2.5% of adults worldwide and 4.4% percent of the adults in the US who have ADHD, although this is thought to be an underrepresentation due to ongoing struggles with truly understanding adult ADHD and strict guidelines for diagnosis. We are starting to get more education and understanding about the disorder once thought to be limited to rambunctious little boys as a result of “bad parenting.” However, in 1990 a study conducted by Alan Zametkin and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) compared the PET scans of adults with ADHD and a control group. The findings showed that not only did the brains of adults with ADHD work differently but it showed that there was 10% less activity overall, with the largest deficit being in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the part of the brain responsible for problem-solving and regulating behavior.

So what does this have to do with exercise? If you recall in my previous posts, I spoke about the role of the prefrontal cortex as well as the amygdala. These are both parts of the brain that are prone to positive effects due to exercise. In my Exercise and Depression blog, I mentioned the discovery that our brain has opiate receptors not only killing pain but producing a feeling of natural euphoria, this provides positive reinforcement in the brain for exercise. This phenomenon is often referred to as “runners high.” The amygdala is responsible for the fight or flight response, which is seen as impulsivity in ADHD. Exercise helps regulate the amygdala. The cerebellum plays a role in this as well, an overactive cerebellum has been found to contribute to the fidgetiness of ADHD which is brought back into balance when dopamine and norepinephrine are elevated during exercise or with stimulant medications.

Structure is one of the best ways of combatting and counteracting the effects of ADHD, the same is also true for the types of exercise that work best for the ADHD brain. Often times you will hear about hyperactive kids who have no “discipline” being enrolled in some type of martial arts and they do really well, this is not a coincidence. Other examples of helpful exercise include ballet, gymnastics, rock climbing, skateboarding, and fast-paced team sports which involve both strategy and physical exertion. My favorite form of exercise and the only thing I’ve ever really been able to stick with is CrossFit, it provides the structure I need but it’s also not the same workout every single time, I don’t get bored with it. I find it’s a great way to start my day and helps me be more productive and focused.

John J Ratey opens his book, Spark, with a chapter on a study done in Naperville, IL in which kids with low test scores were enrolled in Zero Hour PE and it was found that there seems to be a sweet spot of approximately 60 to 90 minutes after exercise that the brain is at peak performance, improving attention and comprehension. He also talks about a study done at the University of Georgia that examined the effects of exercise and dopamine and the results indicated that girls improved with sub-maximal exercise (65-75% max heart rate) and boys with maximal exercise (75% max heart rate) for 20 to 30 minutes. Regular exercise raises the baseline levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. Ratey recommends his patients partake at these levels daily or at least 5 days a week for optimum results.

In closing, regular exercise in many different forms can have a positive impact on your mental health in general. It doesn’t matter what you do really, as long as you do it and it’s something that you can stick with. It’s important that it keeps you interested and most likely doesn’t involve you running in place for 45 minutes. That may be a great form of exercise if you don’t struggle with ADHD but do yourself a favor and find something stimulating. Finding something your ADHD brain avoids will only cause you to waste money on a gym membership and then result in you beating yourself up more, for yet another “failure.” It’s also not to say that this can replace medication but for some people it can. Exercise can also help your medications be more effective, I know for myself a combination of the two are the best form of treatment for me. Do what works for you.

If you’d like to read more about the various benefits of exercise check out this blog post 60+ Benefits of Exercise from Lucie Bennett at Fitnazz.com

If you have any questions, have something to add, or want to chat please feel free to do so by emailing me at Colleen@ScatteredPotential.com, subscribe to my blog, or my newsletter by filling out the form below. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.