Journal of Childhood & Developmental Disorders

A Narrative Review of the Effect of Sport and Exercise on ADHD Symptomatology in Young People with ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition with community prevalence globally of 2%-7% (M=5%). Clinicians are routinely encouraged to explain to children and young people the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, including exercise. Exercise has been proposed as a safe and low-cost adjunctive approach for ADHD and is reported to be accompanied by positive effects on several aspects of executive functioning. The aim of this narrative review was to synthesise the contemporary Randomised-Control Trial [RCT] studies that examine the effect of sport, physical activity and movement on executive functioning in children and adolescents with ADHD. The results identified three RCT meta-analyses and findings showed that children and adolescents with lower baseline cognitive performance demonstrated greater improvements in functioning after physical activity interventions, particularly for tasks with higher executive function demands, where baseline performance reaches an optimal level. Findings suggest that 10 minutes-20 minutes of acute moderate-high intensity exercise interventions (cycling/running) appeared to have positive effects on indices of inhibitory control. Preliminary evidence suggests that as little as 5 minutes of jumping exercises improved inhibitory control. 60-80 minutes of moderately intense, repeated (chronic) exercise appeared to demonstrate the greatest beneficial impact on selection attention. There is also some evidence to suggest that exercise with progressively increasing cognitive demands may have positive effects for children with ADHD, specifically in terms of improving cognitive flexibility. Further large-scale clinical trials are needed to confirm the positive effects of physical exercise on cognitive functioning in children with ADHD.

Author(s): Jenny Meggs*

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