Featured in Science Digest #170

A movement program that also challenges thinking skills improved self-control and memory in children with ADHD. Digest

doi.org
2 min read •

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often struggle not only with attention and impulsive behavior, but also with the mental skills that help them stay focused and regulate their actions. In a randomized clinical trial, researchers tested whether exercise combined with cognitive tasks could support these skills better than aerobic exercise alone.

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The study included 107 children aged 6 to 10 with ADHD. For 12 weeks, the children were assigned to one of three groups: an integrated cognitive-motor exercise program, a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program, or a control group that received a short session on the benefits of physical activity, but no structured training. Both exercise groups trained three times a week for 45 minutes. The integrated program combined movement drills, ball skills, balance tasks, and hand-skill activities with built-in thinking challenges such as following signals, stopping or starting on cue, doing the opposite of an instruction, remembering a series of movements, and switching between rules.

  • Both exercise programs reduced parent-rated core symptoms of ADHD compared with the control group, including inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, with similar improvements in both exercise groups.
  • The integrated program produced a stronger improvement in a test of inhibitory control, which is the ability to hold back an automatic response (e.g., naming the color of a word instead of reading the word itself).
  • Children in the integrated program showed the greatest improvement in remembering visual information right after viewing it (e.g., looking at a complex picture and then drawing it from memory), suggesting a stronger effect on working memory.
  • Memory after a delay improved in both exercise groups, suggesting that physical activity itself may support some forms of memory in ADHD even without added mental challenges.
  • Both exercise programs improved cognitive flexibility, the ability to shift between rules or tasks, compared with the control group.
  • Parents also reported greater satisfaction with the integrated program than with aerobic exercise alone, and no exercise-related adverse events were reported.

If future, longer-term studies show that these benefits last and can be reproduced in other settings, structured exercise that combines movement with cognitive tasks could become a practical non-drug option for children with ADHD in schools, clinics, and community programs. In this clip, Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses whether behavioral modifications can replace the need for ADHD medications.