Exercise and ADHD

Posted on March 14, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 5 Comments

To the average adult with ADHD exercise takes a back seat to almost all other activities. Work, family and friends, errands, sleep and even housework! These activities are important, however so is exercise. Exercise not only helps the longevity of your body, but it helps reduce some of the negative effects of ADHD too. For example, exercise improves your attention, mental focus, memory, mental stamina and allows you to expend pent up energy. Dr Hallowells says “Exercise stimulates epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, like meds. So exercising is like taking meds for ADHD in a holistic, natural way”.

So what can you do to make sure exercise is part of your daily life? As well as choosing a form of exercise that is fun for you and one that is convenient, a powerful way is to look to those people who you admire and are inspired by. Perhaps your favourite sports personality or someone who you know personally. There is one particular example of someone we all know who I find very inspiring and that is Barack Obama.

On the 4th of November 2008, the eyes of the world were on America and its election day. Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African American president. His political views, beliefs and sincerity resonated with millions worldwide. It was a huge day for him and his young family. Over two years of hard work on the campaign trail culminated on this day. We can only imagine the intense emotions he must have felt. That evening when the results were official, he stood in front of 125,000 people in Chicago and gave a speech that brought people to tears and gave people goose bumps all around the world. I am guessing he didn’t get much sleep that night.

Do you know what Barack did around 6 am the morning of the 5th of November? After this momentous day? He went to the gym. Then he put on a suit and started his day.

Now if anyone could excuse themselves from a visit to the gym that day, it would have been Barack Obama. Some thoughts that might have popped into his mind: I am too tired, too busy, I have just been voted the next president of the United States! Even if those excuses did come to his mind, he went to the gym anyway.

What can you do to make sure you exercise regularly?

Make exercise part of your daily routine so that it would be just as hard not to exercise as not brush your teeth at night.
Think of who inspires you to exercise and use them as a motivation to get you moving.
Give yourself a healthy reward after you exercise.
Next time an excuse pops into your head about not exercising, think of Barack.
Notice and enjoy the benefits that exercise has on your ADHD.

Filed Under: ADHD Symptoms, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, attention, exercise, focus, inspiration, mental, routine, sports

How To Do The Activities You Don’t Like Doing

Posted on January 13, 2012 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 1 Comment

Recently, I heard that Jillian Michaels, former trainer for the TV show “Biggest Loser”… doesn’t like to exercise. That really surprised me; I thought TV’s toughest trainer would love exercising.

However, she likes the benefits of exercise, rather than actual exercise. This example, beautifully illustrates that sometimes we have to do actions that aren’t enjoyable, but they are essential to our well-being.

carousel horsesHow To Do The Activities You Dont Like Doing Psychologist, Dr. Ari Tuckman, identifies the difference between Product and Process activities. Process activities are actions that are done for pleasure, for example, spending time with people you love, listening to your favorite album or watching a movie. Product activities are the day to day actions that need to get done in order to function and live. Things like paying a bill on time, taking the trash out and cleaning the kitchen after supper.

Neither one is superior, both are essential to live a happy, healthy life. If your life is full of product activities you become emotional drained. If life is full of Process activities, then there are negative consequences, unpaid bills and dirty living environment etc. So balance is key.

Everyone has a different idea of if an action is a product or process activity. For example, someone who loves to cook thinks cooking an evening meal is a process activity. Yet for someone else cooking is definitely a product activity.

When you have ADHD product activities are more problematic carry out than process activities.

This is because ADHD is less issue of attention and more a motivational problem. Adults with ADHD find it hard to change from an activity they are enjoying to a different one. It is also hard for them to stay motivated and to follow through on uninteresting tasks.

What can you do to ensure you have a balance of Product and Process tasks in your life:

1) Acknowledge not all actions are fun, but they still need to be done. It sounds obvious, but it is a freeing idea. When you are next cleaning your bathroom with a sinking heart, remind yourself, this isn’t meant to be fun, but having a clean bathroom is a good thing.

2) Make product activities as enjoyable as possible. Use your timer; put music on while you are doing these activities.

3) Create habits around Product Activities so they get done as painlessly as possible.

4) Include Process activities in your life, at least one a day. Adults with ADHD tend to forget or feel they don’t deserve fun things in their life. However, when Process activities are in your life,
they give you energy so that the product activities become less hard.

emailHow To Do The Activities You Dont Like Doing

Filed Under: Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: activity, add, adhd, adults, Ari Tuckman, balance, cooking, drained, exercise, food, get healthy, increase, Jillian Michaels, life, living, lose weight

8 Great Reasons to Exercise When You Have ADHD

Posted on September 30, 2011 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 1 Comment

1) Increases Productivity

Billionaire ADHDer, Richard Branson, says that on days he exercises on he has 4 extra hours of productivity. Perfect proof that time spent exercising is an investment not an expenditure.

2) Allows you to focus on the task at hand

Try this experiment, next time you are sitting down trying to focus on a task, but just can’t. Get up and do 30 push ups or go for a run around the block. Now, sit down again. I bet you are able to focus and get that task done in record breaking time! This is because brain activities (like focusing and paying attention) are fed with oxygen and aerobic exercise increases the amount of oxygen in the brain.

3) Can replace stimulant medication

In his book, Spark: The revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr John Ratey, says exercise can be a substitute for stimulant medication for some people or a complementary treatment for others.

4) Reduces Depression

There is a large amount of research showing that exercise is very effective in treating mild to moderate depression. Exercise seems to affect certain neurotransmitter systems in the same way that taking an antidepressant does. As one out of four ADHD adults suffer with depression, this is a great reason to pop on your sneakers.

5) Helps anxiety

Anxiety is helped by exercise both immediately and in the long term. This is great to know since 50 percent of adults with ADHD also have an anxiety disorder.

6) Improves learning and Academic results

When a school in Naperville included daily exercise in their students curriculum weight loss problems went down and Academic achievements up.

7) Aids Sleep

Getting regular exercise improves the quality of sleep, helps you fall asleep quickly when you climb into bed and reduces sleepiness during the day.

8) Increases Confidence

Research from the Journal of Health Psychology showed when people with low self confidence exercised their self esteem improved. This is brilliant news as many adults with ADD have low levels of self esteem.

Check out another article about ADHD and Exercise

email8 Great Reasons to Exercise When You Have ADHD

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: adhd, adhd behavior, change, exercise, health, routine, sleep

5 Lessons We Can Learn from Michael Phelps

Posted on November 25, 2008 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 2 Comments

23-year-old Michael Phelps is the record-breaking Olympic Swimming Champion. He is the first person to win eight gold medals in a single Olympics; the Beijing 2008 Olympics to be precise. Overall, he currently holds 16 Olympic medals; the other eight remaining are six gold and two bronze medals at Athens in 2004. What an inspiring and incredible achievement!

What many people don’t realize is that Michael has ADHD. The success of this American hero seems so effortless to the outsider, but in fact follows a challenging childhood; one that many people with ADHD can relate to. His peers bullied Michael as a child and he struggled in the classroom.

So what can we learn from Michael? You might not be an aspiring Olympic Champion, but whatever you are striving towards, Michael Phelps has key elements in his life that provide him with a strong foundation to excel in his chosen field.

Lesson # 1:

Michael has great people in his life.

He has an actively supportive mom and two elder sisters, all of who were on the stands cheering for him in Beijing. He also has a great swimming coach whom Michael respects and admires.

While the Western culture places great emphasis on being independent, humans are social beings and need human connection to thrive and be as healthy and successful as we can possibly be.

Living with ADHD isn’t easy, yet life can be much more joyful and the knocks easier to recover from when you have people who care about you, who share in your successes, as well as in the harder times.

Who are the most important people in your life? Do you connect with a loved one, either a family member or a friend every day? If not, take a moment to think about how you can incorporate this into your daily life.

Lesson # 2:

Exercise.

Michael exercises every day. As a schoolboy, his mom took him to the swimming pool every day, including Christmas day.

Michael’s passion and work IS exercise. However, it is still important that you incorporate exercise into your life on a daily basis. Exercise aids adults with ADHD because it improves attention, burns off pent up energy, reduces anxiety, and improves your mood.

Is exercise part of your daily life? If not, think of what exercise you like to do most and then, how to make it a part of your daily life. If possible, exercise at the beginning of the day. However, the main thing is to get moving and any time of day would be great.

Lesson # 3:

Michael does what he is good at.

Michael has a body built for swimming: he is 6 feet and 4 inches tall, a slim 195lbs, has size 14 feet, and hands that act like paddles – they are the size of dinner plates!

Usually, the things we are naturally good at are the very things that we enjoy the most. There is no point in fighting and struggling to do what you aren’t good at. It’s no fun. It’s hard work and really wears you down emotionally. When you work with your strengths, your life becomes more joyful and easier.

What are you naturally good at? Think about this question in relation to both your work and home life.

Lesson # 4:

Michael turned what he didn’t like to do into something that was fun.

Like many people with ADHD, Michael found school very challenging. He struggled to concentrate and focus in the classroom and didn’t enjoy reading or math. Michael’s mom was resourceful and gave Michael the sports section of the newspaper to make reading more enjoyable for him, and ensured his math tutor customized math problems to make them more interesting, e.g. ‘If you swim one meter per second, how long would it take to swim 800 meters?’

No matter how much or how often you use your strengths, there are some things that you have to do, even though they aren’t fun for you. You may not have Michael’s resourceful mom at your side, but you can be creative and think of ways to turn your painful tasks, that only you can do, into something fun.

First of all, think about what you really dislike doing. Do you think it can be delegated? If not, ask yourself how you can turn it into something that is fun.

Lesson # 5:

Michael has a dog that he named Herman!

Michael’s English bulldog Herman provides unconditional love, and doesn’t care how many medals Michael has.

Consider getting a dog for a pet.

Now, while you may think this a funny suggestion, having a pet dog can be incredibly helpful to adults with ADHD. No matter how wonderful the people are in your life, a loyal pet dog loves you regardless of whether you took the trash out or not, or did a good presentation at work. Because of this, they boost your self-esteem; they force you to go for walks, so you don’t forget your exercise. Also, dog owners talk to more people more often than non-dog owners do. Dog owners are less inclined to suffer from depression than non-dog owners are. Having a pet dog can also help you to have structure in your day.