ADHD is a genetic disorder, but DNA is not working alone. Stress, foods, and environmental toxins change the brain as well. Here, learn how to reverse their negative effects.
— this one involving humans — tested whether taking an omega-3 supplement would impact the attention abilities of a mother’s child. The study found that children whose mothers had randomly received the supplement had stronger attention at 6 and 12 months, and later had better-developed mental abilities, than did children whose mothers had not taken the supplement.
Similar experiments have been done on stress and adversity — and how exercise can counteract those negative effects. One experimentplaced rats into a stressful situation for a period of time each day, which resulted in significant epigenetic changes that decreased healthy function. However, when those same rats were also allowed to exercise — while still experiencing the stressor — the negative effects on the brain were completely eliminated.
How big are these effects? Some changes, like reducing the amount of TV a child watches each day, have very small effects on ADHD symptoms — only slightly noticeable in a family’s everyday life. Others, like increasing omega-3 intake or introducing an exercise regimen, have significantly larger effect sizes — up to twice or three times as large as reducing screen time.There is strong, convincing evidence that exercise benefits a child’s development and attention.
Continuing research is creating an ever-growing body of evidence regarding which lifestyle changes improve ADHD symptoms, and which are less useful. Though findings are still preliminary, the evidence is already strong enough to make them actionable. Simple changes, like exercising more or taking a fish oil supplement, can have real, lasting effects on an individual’s ADHD symptoms — in other words, genes do not seal your fate.
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