What would you say if there was one thing you could do that would help to improve symptoms of ADHD: decrease impulsivity, increase attention, help you focus better, improve your mood, make you healthier overall and this thing didn't cost any money and didn't have any side effects? Most people would eagerly say "sign me up!"

Well, this is exactly what exercise can do for you. Terry Matlen previously wrote about Dr. John Ratey's book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain and his research into the subject of ADHD and exercise. According to Dr. Ratey, "Exercise is the single most popular tool we have to optimize our brain function... exercise not only makes us smarter; it also makes us less stressed, depressed and anxious."

What Exercise Does for Us

We all know that exercise is important to maintaining a healthy body. It helps to keep our heart and muscles healthy and working properly. It helps us combat physical illnesses such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and improves blood circulation. Exercise has been found to fight diseases such as osteoporosis and diabetes. It helps you to maintain your weight.

But in addition to these physical benefits, exercise specifically helps people with ADHD by:

• Improves executive functioning abilities, such as memory, sequencing, planning and prioritizing.

• Increases attention and focus

• Decreases hyperactivity and impulsiveness

• Increasing alertness

• Decreasing the craving for new stimuli

• Increase motivation

• Improve mood, for example decreasing feelings of depression and anxiety

Regular exercise also improves sleep, a major problem for many individuals with ADHD, helps to increase appetite (often a problem when taking stimulant medication) and maintain weight.

Why Exercise Helps

When we exercise, the chemicals dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin levels in the brain are increased. People with ADHD are known to have lower levels of these chemicals. Stimulant medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, boost the levels of these chemicals. In that way, exercise works much like a stimulant medication. Although most people will find that exercise is a great addition to their ADHD treatment, some people have actually replaced medication with exercise.

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

According to Terry Matlen, "Dr. Ratey expressed openly his passion about the benefits of even moderate exercise; one doesn't have to run 5 miles a day to see improvements in attention, energy levels and mood. Even brisk walks around the block can help. John mentioned that the type of exercise done does make a difference, though, and explained that exercise that required thinking/strategy, like martial arts, for example, would offer added benefits."

What Types of Exercise Should I Do?

Joining a gym or working with a personal trainer are great ways to start an exercise program, there are plenty of ways you can increase your activity level: