OK everybody, let's get moving!
Did you know that exercise is considered a non-medicinal treatment for ADD?
We hear a lot about the other benefits. We know that exercise increases muscle and bone strength, helps you to maintain a healthy weight, lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure, helps elevate depression and boosts your immune system. But we may not know how important "deliberate movement" is to the child and adult with ADD.
According to Dr. Hallowell and Dr. Ratey in their book "Delivered from Distraction:"
"When a person exercises, she sets in motion a cascade of events that her brain loves. She sends more blood to her brain. With more blood comes more oxygen. Exercise also stimulates the release of a plethora of nutrients, hormones, chemical precursors of neurotransmitters, growth factors, and cleansing agents that bathe the brain in precisely what it needs to function at its best. We think of exercise as giving our hearts a good workout; but it gives the brain an equally useful dose of nourishment as well as a cleansing bath.
Regular exercise acts as an anti-depressant and an anti-anxiety agent. It also protects against the development of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. It enhances cognitive function—which is to say it makes you smarter. In an era of false claims, exercise is one of the true “smart pills” we have.
Especially important for those who have ADD, exercise also promotes mental focus, which is to say it is an excellent treatment for ADD. Regular exercise promotes sustained attention, the ability to stay alert and remain on task. Regular exercise builds mental endurance and reduces mental fatigue"
You don't have to pump weights or compete in a triathlon; all you have to do is move! Walk down the street for 10 minutes in one direction, turn around and walk back home. You don't need an expensive gym membership or a $500 clothes hanger (this is what home gym equipment becomes for those of us with ADD). Buy yourself a good pair of comfortable walking shoes and move in them!
I live in New England where it is often cold and rainy and other times it is cold and snowy. Then, we have periods when it's "much too hot!" Walking outside in this part of the country does take some courage, but when you make it a habit, it becomes an adventure!
My German Shepherd, Bailey is a die hard walking companion. She doesn't care how cold, hot or wet it is outside and she doesn't have much patience waiting for her humans to dress appropriately for the conditions. If she sees me even look at my shoes, she's waiting by the door! In the winter she watches us dress layer by layer wondering what the heck is taking us so long.
I do have to say, always check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program and then, do what you love to do. Move the way your body loves to move! It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it for a time period of 20 minutes to 1 hour, at least 3x per week: One-half hour 6 days per week is ideal. You can bike, skate, Rollerblade, swim, use an exercise tape, a hula-hoop, dance, skateboard, hike or jump rope. Try something new and have fun with it!
