In my first newsletter I shared that after almost 4 years of stability on my ADHD medication I am now looking at a long wait without access to the medication, thanks to the vagaries of the NHS’s approach to ADHD treatment.
So – while I am still apocalyptically cross about the entire affair – I am consoling myself with the knowledge that I have access to 4 years worth of experience in managing my ADHD alongside the medication.
I have long said, to anyone who asked (and to some others who had the misfortune of being within conversation range once I got wound up and started talking about ADHD…) that the medication was only partof the solution when it came to managing my symptoms.
Actually KNOWING I had ADHD, rather than worrying I was slightly defective was a huge moment – as, I’m sure anyone who has received a diagnosis in later life can affirm. I still have this knowledge and they can’t take that from me.
The other part of the puzzle was using that knowledge to start making some serious (and long overdue) lifestyle changes. I quit drinking and smoking, and after 40 years of treating my body with the kind of contempt that would make a serial killer wince, I finally started looking after my health.
WHY
I have never been an ‘athletic’ sort. Despite being pretty good at swimming when I was younger, I’ve never been great at any sport, and lack even a base level of hand eye coordination. So until the age of 35 I didn’t do any exercise at all. It was then, having become utterly sick of commuting on the Northern Line twice a day – cramming my 6ft 4 frame into a stranger’s armpit twice a day and paying a small fortune for the privilege – I snapped, bought a road bike and have never looked back.
I’d finally found a type of exercise that worked FOR ME. And I loved it.
I used cycling as my way of increasing my fitness and improving not only my mood, but my ability to focus and regulate my attention too.
So as we reach February and many of us are contemplating giving up on the fitness goals we set ourselves, I’m here to say to any of my fellow ADHDers reading this: Don’t. Give. Up.
The science:
A 2016 study from the University of Georgia found that 32 young adult men with ADHD symptoms who did 20 minutes of cycling at 65% of their VO2 max, reported:
- Higher motivation for cognitive work
- Higher energy levels
- Lower depression, fatigue and confusion
This is important, as one of my own ADHD fallacies was thinking I needed the motivation to show up before I could start the work. Now I know, and tell my clients the same: Motivation is almost always late to the party. Get started with something (anything!) and the motivation will then start to seep into your day.
Another study from Beijing Normal University found that different types of exercises resulted in different (positive) outcomes in a study of children with ADHD. It found that vigorous intensity exercise improved working memory, whereas submaximal intensity exercise showed significant improvements in inhibitory control.
My points here are that different types of exercise will have different impacts – after half a lifetime of inactivity I now exercise at least 6 days a week, cycling, lifting at the gym, yoga, pilates and long, rambling hikes. When I don’t exercise I can really feel the difference in my mood and my ability to GSD (Get sh*t done).
So if you’re struggling with ADHD, waiting for medication after being diagnosed, or just wanting to improve your health and naturally improve your ability to focus, and work effectively, start moving. Find an exercise you like, find a tribe of people, and make it part of your daily routine.
My only regret is that it took the first half of my life, and an ADHD diagnosis for me to start moving.
If you want to find other great ways of managing your ADHD, drop me a line and we can build a better routine together.