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Effects of physical exercise on attention deficit and other major symptoms in children with ADHD: A meta-analysis - PubMed
Source : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35305344/
1 Department of Physical Education and Sport Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected]. 2 Department of Physical Education and Sport Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China. 3 School of Physical Education and Health, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, 201620, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Conclusion: Physical exercise can help alleviate the symptoms of ADHD in children. Specifically, it can improve attention, executive function, and motor skills.
• Source: Psychiatry Research
• Conclusion: Physical exercise can help alleviate the symptoms of ADHD in children. Specifically, it can improve attention, executive function, and motor skills.
• Researchers included 15 RCTs with 734 participants in this meta-analysis. They demonstrated that exercise could improve the following ADHD parameters: attention, executive function, and motor skills. Exercise did not affect hyperactivity, depression, social problems, or aggressive behavior.
• The researchers suggested that physical exercise can boost the activity of adrenal hormone receptors, as well as dopamine and norepinephrine production/secretion, thus helping kids with ADHD better process external information and enhance the coordination between brain regions needed for the distribution of attention and other specific areas. These effects improve attention.
• “The fun and organization of sports activities are also conducive to improving concentration. Impulsive aggression is an unplanned and immediate response that reflects uncontrolled emotions and has negative consequences,” wrote the authors.
• Limitations of the current study include the possible presence of confounding covariates, including variations in exercise intervention programs. Furthermore, the RCTs had smaller sample sizes and were not long-term, with heterogeneity in measuring outcomes.