Outdoor activities help ADHD
Natural surroundings may help in reducing the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
Natural surroundings may help in reducing the symptoms of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
The study of 452 parents of children with ADHD found that activities in green spaces such as farms, parks and even backyards seemed to temporarily quell the children's symptoms. Children were more likely to show improved symptoms in the hour after an outdoor, activity than after activities performed indoors or in concrete-and-steel settings.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign speculated that daily doses of green time, such as simply taking a greenery-splashed route when walking to school, or playing on grass instead of concrete, could help in managing ADHD.
Previous research has suggested that natural settings help battle so-called attention fatigue in people without ADHD. This temporary fatigue is thought to develop when people have to work to focus their attention on a task, blocking out distractions from their surroundings; the theory being that natural environments provide respite from this effort.
Attention fatigue, though fleeting, shares characteristics with ADHD. Some studies, mostly in urban areas, have suggested that spending time in green spaces eases children's ADHD symptoms.
To see whether green settings might have more widespread effects, researchers conducted a national survey that asked parents to rate how various after-school and weekend activities affected their children's ability to focus, listen and follow instruction. The study included families from urban, rural and suburban areas.
The researchers found that overall, activities in natural settings whether on a farm, in a backyard, or in a green neighborhood space seemed to have a calming effect on children's symptoms. Indoors activities and those in outdoor settings like downtown areas also seemed to ease ADHD symptoms, but only when the child was alone or with one friend. In contrast, green activities appeared to improve symptoms even when a child was part of a large group.
The findings suggest that green time could help many children, regardless of their personal circumstances and possibly reduce their need for medication. Among those children for whom medication is not an option, a regular regime of green views and green time outdoors might offer the only relief from symptoms available.
There is evidence that ADHD may be as much as three to four times more common in urban environments than in other areas. Parents can keep track and find out which activities work for their children.
American Journal of Public Health,
August 2004
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