Improving Mental Health in Children with ADHD Through Physical Activity
According to the National Institute on Health (2021), children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are commonly known to experience challenges associated with a handful of symptoms such as (but not limited to):
Inattention — having difficulty paying attention
Hyperactivity — having too much energy or moving and talking too much
Impulsivity — acting without thinking or having difficulty with self-control
These symptoms can make children with ADHD feel like life is extra hard for them compared to those without, which can wreak havoc on their self-confidence if not attended to properly and effectively. Especially in academic settings where there are typically expectations to sit still and focus on a particular task (that may or may not be all that interesting), having ADHD can cause difficulties that greatly impact one’s ability to achieve successful outcomes.
One of the major ways to help children with ADHD improve their chances of succeeding is through enabling them opportunities to move their bodies regularly throughout the day.
Importance of Physical Activity
Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash
Granting children with ADHD permission to get up and move around, as well as not be required to sit still for excessively long periods of time, may be greatly beneficial for reasons beyond just enabling them to release some of their built up physical energy. For instance, according to the American Psychological Association (2020), “It’s been proven that physical activity can improve brain functions like memory and cognition both immediately after a workout and in the long-term.”
Now, although this is true for everyone (not just those with ADHD), it is important to take note of these findings and consider utilizing physical activity as an effective strategy for helping children with ADHD. Having a strategy that is capable of potentially helping children with ADHD improve their cognition and memory recall, while simultaneously giving them the ability to release physical energy that has been building up from the time they spent sitting down, is an amazing win-win scenario that cannot be neglected (especially given how easy it is to implement).
If that wasn’t enough, physical activity has some amazing mental health-enhancing benefits that will greatly enhance the quality of life in children with ADHD. For instance, physical activity increases the levels of dopamine in the brain, which leads to increased feelings of pleasure, motivation, and hope (McGonigal, 2020). This is huge for children with ADHD because it may greatly help in minimizing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, or low frustration tolerance, which will inevitably cause symptoms of ADHD such as impulsivity and inattentiveness to exacerbate even further. Even better, these acute increases in dopamine that occur after participating in bouts of physical activity, when done consistently over a long period of time, may lead to higher average levels of circulating dopamine at any given moment due to an increased number of available dopamine receptors in the brain (McGonigal, 2020).
Also, for children with ADHD who may already be experiencing depression or anxiety, physical activity has also been shown to significantly reduce their symptoms, providing a major improvement in their mental health (Zang, 2019). This is key to remember because it has been found that children with ADHD and depression display more impairment in social and academic functioning compared to controls (Blackman et al., 2005).
When possible, the benefits of physical activity on children with ADHD may be even more impactful when done at a moderate-high intensity. According to Chan, Jang, and Ho’s (2022) research on this topic, “when exercise intensity is moderate–high, the body activates neurophysiological responses to induce the synthesis of neurotransmitters, secrete brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and increase the blood flow to the brain, thereby improving neuroplasticity and enhancing information-processing capacity.”
On top of those findings, it was also found that these effects that come from moderate-high physical activities can noticeably alleviate the symptoms associated with ADHD and their comorbidities, which will facilitate neural growth and regulation in the brains of children with ADHD (Chan, Jang, and Ho, 2022). All of this helps remind us that not getting enough physical activity can contribute to lower levels of necessary brain chemicals, resulting in the possibility of increased depression and anger, which will inevitably make life for children with ADHD even tougher than it already is for them.
All of these findings are very promising and so it is important to keep researching the effects of moderate-high intensity exercise on the brain even further so that individuals with ADHD (children and adults) can learn how to properly utilize it as an effective strategy for managing/minimizing their ADHD symptoms in pursuit of a better quality of life.
Now that we’ve discussed just how impactful physical activity can be for children with ADHD, it’s time to get into how we can enhance these benefits even further!
Unlocking Their Full Potential
To truly take advantage of all of the mental and physical health benefits of physical activity, the parents/caregivers of children with ADHD should highly consider finding an experienced and knowledgeable personal trainer who can guide their child through a more formal exercise program that is individualized to meet their unique needs.
By working with a personal trainer who knows how to properly design and implement an effective exercise routine, a child with ADHD can gain so many additional benefits beyond simply increasing their physical fitness.
Qualities of an Ideal Personal Trainer
All good personal trainers know that to ensure the success of all of their clients, they have to do a lot more than just simply put those clients through a workout. There needs to be a full understanding between your child and the personal trainer in regards to where they are at currently with their overall health and wellness, where they would like to be down the road, and how to best go about getting there safely and effectively. This will require consistently modifying the exercise program in a manner that takes more than just your child’s physical health into account.
For example, let’s say that your child has muscular weakness in a given area and also doesn’t seem to be all that enthused about the exercises that the personal trainer has been prescribing for them previously to address that weakness. Even though the personal trainer knows that those exercises will be highly beneficial for increasing their strength in that area of muscular weakness, they also are able to recognize the significant lack of enthusiasm from the child while performing those exercises and therefore be willing to try something else to get the job done rather than forcing them to do it anyways. Forcing a child to do exercises they don’t like is destined to lead to the child wanting to quit the exercise program entirely, as well as potentially feel reluctant to try working with another personal trainer in the future.
Tips for Finding the Right Personal Trainer for Your Child
When interviewing a potential personal trainer, look for signs that they are able to effectively create a program that meets not only the child’s physical fitness needs but their mental health needs as well. To do this, first give the personal trainer some background info about what your child’s physical health strengths and limitations are. This ensures the personal trainer is fully aware of what to account for so that they can design workouts that are safe and appropriately addressing the child’s physical needs.
Then, give a brief overview of your child’s current mental health status. Or, more specifically, their emotional wellbeing. Does your child get easily frustrated? Are they excessively self-critical? Do they do well around large groups of people or would they be better off in a more private setting? Any info you can give the trainer that doesn’t overly intrude on the child’s personal privacy is useful.
After that info has been presented to the personal trainer you are interviewing, ask them to explain to you how they would go about successfully implementing a plan that compensates for both their child’s physical and mental health needs.
This is a tough question to answer on the spot, so if the trainer gives you a strong, knowledgeable answer with confidence that doesn’t make you question their authenticity or doubt their ability to execute the plan they just laid out for you, they are legit. However, if they give you an answer that expresses a noticeable lack of uncertainty, or in any way whatsoever has you questioning their ability to confidently and effectively guide your child’s health and fitness journey, keep looking.
Here are some basic examples of what a strong answer from the personal trainer might include:
“I will help to establish clear goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound (a.k.a. SMART Goals) so that everyone has clarity over what this fitness journey will entail, as well as enable me to prescribe a more concise program to meet your child’s individualized needs.”
“I can give your child an opportunity to achieve greater levels of physical fitness in a safe/well monitored environment that will enhance their self-confidence due to the fact that they will be capable of pulling off impressive physical feats they never could previously.”
“I can increase their motivation and drive to push themselves harder than they would by themselves through consistent encouragement and positive reinforcement that will fuel their feelings of self-worth and remind them that they are capable of overcoming difficult challenges.”
“I will serve as a mentor for your child who guides them to grasp a deeper understanding of a “growth mindset”, in which they focus on their own personal journey without worrying about comparing themselves to their peers or stressing about things they can’t control.”
Although all of these examples may seem very different from one another, notice that they are all clearly sending the message that they are invested in helping your child improve their mental health and overall well being via physical activity.
Important Factors to Take Note of
Once your child has started working with a personal trainer, your child might start showing signs of getting physically healthier (i.e. stronger, faster, leaner, more muscular, etc.) after just a few sessions. Many people refer to these initial physical health improvements/adaptations as “beginner gains” because they primarily occur as a result of the exercise routine being brand new to the individual, which inevitably forces their body to adapt to these new physical demands being placed on it quickly. These “beginner gains” may lead to a temporary increase in confidence given how quickly they can start occurring, but remember this: it is essential to be aware that these physical health improvements will eventually slow down or even come to a plateau, which may be discouraging to your child. However, this slowdown in progress isn’t necessarily a reason for concern. Instead, it is likely a sign that their body has adapted to the demands of the exercise program physiologically to the extent that it is no longer being interpreted by the brain and nervous system as a new stressor, which is a great sign that their levels of physical fitness have improved!
Along with being fully aware of “beginner gains”, it is also highly crucial that you, the personal trainer, and anyone else that is directly involved in the health and wellbeing of your child, try hard to accurately assess and consistently monitor your child for signs of positive mental health improvements (i.e. greater expressions of self-confidence, more resilience/less agitation when frustrated, etc.). Especially throughout the first few weeks of starting this exercise program, really take this seriously because increases in physical health and mental health should go hand-and-hand. If one improves, so should the other.
If weeks go by and your child is showing signs of physical health improvements, but not showing signs of positive improvements to their mental health and wellbeing, then it may be a sign that they need to be more formally evaluated by a licensed mental health professional such as a therapist or a child psychologist.
Conclusion
In the end, whether or not you hire a personal trainer for your child, I hope it is clearer than ever just how important physical activity is in general for enhancing the overall health and wellbeing of your child with ADHD.
If you do decide to hire a personal trainer, remember how much it matters that they are able to properly take all of the factors affecting your child’s mental health into account while designing, implementing, and modifying the exercise program as well.
Acknowledgement of Additional Article Contributors
I want to acknowledge, recognize, and express my appreciation for the ADHD experts that helped contribute to the making of this article. Both Ms. Hughes and Ms. Mashburn dedicated their time to helping me find valuable scientific research for this article, as well as help in interpreting the findings from the research they found in regards to why physical activity should be considered an essential strategy for enhancing the mental health of children with ADHD.
Elizabeth Hughes
Credentials: LCSW, M.S Education in Counseling Psychology
ADHD Advisor Profile: https://www.adhdadvisor.org/adhd/online-adhd-diagnosis#liz-hughes
Emily Mashburn
Credentials: LMHC,EMDR trained, and also trained up to Gottman level 2
ADHD Advisor Profile: https://www.adhdadvisor.org/adhd/online-adhd-diagnosis#emily-mashburn
References
American Psychological Association. (2020, March 4). Working out boosts brain health. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/exercise-fitness/stress
Blackman, G. L., Ostrander, R., & Herman, K. C. (2005). Children with ADHD and Depression: A Multisource, Multimethod Assessment of Clinical, Social, and Academic Functioning. Journal of Attention Disorders, 8(4), 195–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054705278777
Chan, Y. S., Jang, J. T., & Ho, C. S. (2022). Effects of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biomedical journal, 45(2), 265–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2021.11.011
Jacobson, R. (2024, May 3). ADHD and Exercise. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/adhd-and-exercise/#:~:text=Exercise%20can%20help%20kids%20with,focus%20better%20and%20feel%20better
McGonigal, K. (2020, January 6). Five Surprising Ways Exercise Changes Your Brain. Https://Greatergood.berkeley.edu/; The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_surprising_ways_exercise_changes_your_brain
National Institute of Mental Health. (2021). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Teens: What You Need to Know. Www.nimh.nih.gov. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-in-children-and-teens-what-you-need-to-know
Wang, M., Yang, X., Yu, J., Zhu, J., Kim, H.-D., & Cruz, A. (2023). Effects of Physical Activity on Inhibitory Function in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1032. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021032
Zang, Y. (2019). Impact of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Medicine, 98(46), e17980. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000017980
