- In the US alone, 20 million prescriptions for stimulants (like Ritalin) are written for kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by doctors every year.
- More than any other drug class, this number of scripts increases; 800,000 added every year to that 20 million. That’s a lot of amphetamines for a lot of kids.
- Stimulants are thought to act by raising levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the brain.How else can we increase dopamine and norepinephrine levels?
- Exercise. Dopamine and Norepinephrine levels rise within minutes of starting physical activity.
- Whereas the stimulants may take an hour to work; physical activity works almost immediately.
- Both acute and chronic physical activity can alleviate ADHD symptoms, according to the latest review of evidence.
- The drugs produce unwanted adverse drug reactions, toxicities, and drug induced nutrient depletion and have the potential for abuse.
- With no side-effects, exercise has been shown to be effective in controlling ADHD symptoms.
- Actually exercise dose have side effects– good ones. The authors of the review conclude, “it should be noted that a major difference in the two treatment modalities is that medications have a defined effect on ADHD symptoms alone, whereas exercise produces physical, mental, and emotional advantages that are far-reaching.”
Sources Cited
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G. Chai, L. Governale, A. W. McMahon, J. P. Trinidad, J. Staffa, D. Murphy. Trends of outpatient prescription drug utilization in US children, 2002-2010. Pediatrics 2012 130(1):23 – 31
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J. I. Gapin, J. D. Labban, J. L. Etnier. The effects of physical activity on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: The evidence. Prev Med. 2011 52 (Suppl 1):S70 – S74
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G. R. Van Loon, L. Schwartz, M. J. Sole. Plasma dopamine responses to standing and exercise in man. Life Sci. 1979 24(24):2273 – 2277
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Thomas L. Lenz. A Pharmacological/Physiological Comparison between ADHD Medications and Exercise. Am. J. Lifestyle Med. 2012 6(4):306 – 308
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