We’ve all read about the calming benefits of various relaxation techniques, from practicing yoga to walking in nature. While this may be helpful for adults, what’s to be said of relaxation techniques when it comes to young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Can learning ways to reduce anxiety lead to symptom improvements?
[ See: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling.]
Less Impulsivity, More Focus
“It certainly can be beneficial,” says Dr. John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of “Go Wild: Eat Fat, Run Free, Be Social, and Follow Evolution’s Other Rules for Total Health and Well-being.” One technique, mindfulness, interrupts the “loop of worry and anger” that some kids with ADHD often get trapped in, he explains. This puts the brain in a state of relaxation that can activate the prefrontal cortex — “the part we want to turn on for ADHD kids.”
Something as easy as deep breathing can soothe children while simultaneously redirecting their focus. Fixations involving anger, impulsivity and addiction — all feelings and behaviors someone with ADHD may experience — can be broken through deep breathing, Ratey says, provided it’s done on a regular basis. “It teaches to let something go rather than get caught up in constant worry.”
Relaxing With Others Is Key
Not only should relaxation be practiced on a regular basis, but ideally it should be done with at least one other person. “It’s better done in a group setting like an entire classroom,” or through physical activities such as martial arts, which he says has relaxation at its very core. Additionally, its focus on movement and body positions can be useful for a child struggling with ADHD.
The idea of practicing mindfulness in the classroom is one that Dr. Sanford Newmark, head of the Pediatric Integrative Neurodevelopmental Program and medical director at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, finds particularly intriguing. “It’s shown exciting possibilities,” he says, noting many positive results, including improvements with attention, behavior and focus — all of which stem from spending quiet time together while paying attention to thoughts without judgment. For example, children in a classroom might be directed to note the pace of each breath or how their legs, arms, neck and other parts of their body feel. Newmark says that classroom mindfulness offers parents the added benefit of not having to take their child to a separate class after school. Still, he offers a word of caution, saying more studies need to be conducted. “It’s way too early to say whether relaxation techniques help from a scientific point of view,” Newmark explains.
[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health.]
Practicing relaxation techniques with others is the essential point here, according to Joel Nigg, division of psychology director and professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Oregon Health and Science University. He says that such methods haven’t really proven to be highly beneficial in terms of ADHD symptom improvement when children practice them alone. But when parents and children engage in relaxation methods like mindfulness-based activities together, the story changes. Nigg says that working on calming strategies with others has been shown to produce a better result, which he feels ultimately circles back to the larger point of addressing children’s stress levels in the first place. “This speaks to the larger issue of stress management for children with ADHD,” he says, explaining that parents and social support networks should be increasingly cognizant of this.
Addressing Stress, a Relaxation-Disruptor
” Kids with ADHD are more sensitive to stress,” says Nigg, author of “Getting Ahead of ADHD: What Next-Generation Science Says About Treatments That Work — and How You Can Make Them Work for Your Child. “ “They react worse to stress, may have a different interpretation of events and may also respond to parental stress levels too,” he says.
Parents should do their best to assess the home environment by asking themselves what may be making it too intense for children and themselves, Nigg says. “We often forget to do stress management when it comes to ADHD, yet we think about it when it comes to cardiovascular disease,” he says of how infrequently the stress-ADHD link is considered. Is there too much overscheduling? Are kids on overload? Additionally, are parents stressed? Nigg says that “kids are acutely sensitive to parents’ stress levels,” which can add to their own worries. He explains that if parents have unresolved sources of stress or have experienced emotionally disturbing trauma that hasn’t been dealt with, it’s not uncommon for everyone to feel overwhelmed.
“Lowering a high emotional temperature while increasing levels of mellowness in the home or relationship with children” is necessary, Nigg explains. However, doing so varies for every family based on circumstance. Getting social support, reducing the load of activities that are scheduled, giving each other personal space and assessing television use (for some, it can create a soothing background sound, but for others, it may be an added energy input that adds to household chaos) are a few ways to create a relaxing setting for both parent and child, he says.
[See: 10 of the Biggest Health Threats Facing Your Kids This School Year.]
Exercise is another way to head off stress, says Newmark, author of “ADHD Without Drugs: A Guide to the Natural Care of Children with ADHD.” “Kids need to move,” he says, explaining that it especially helps de-stress children with ADHD who have been in school all day.” Playing with friends and being out in nature is relaxing, healing and can help improve brain function, Newmark says.
On the flip side, just sitting quietly together sometimes does the trick, Ratey explains. Being in each other’s presence while practicing breath counting can help slow the brain down. “This has an effect of sharpening focus and certainly helps to control impulsive, disruptive behaviors.”
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Can Relaxation Techniques Help Children With ADHD? originally appeared on usnews.com
