Lifestyle Changes for ADHD Symptoms in Children, Instead of Drugs.

​Are children needlessly prescribed stimulants?  Since about 1991, drugs like Ritalin have been used to help children focus better, to stop their outbursts in school, and to stop their hyperactivity.  According to CDC 2023 data, about 4% of American children take ADHD medication, and a doctor diagnoses a child’s ADHD by visible symptoms.  The parent complains to the psychiatrist that their child is not focusing in school.  The doctor reassures the parent that he has the answer: a drug: Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, Ritalin.  The list gets longer as the FDA approves more drugs. 

​Are drugs the answer?  Have other causes for the children’s behaviors been ruled out?  Are the children just behaving normally?  Not to mention, the so-called ADHD symptoms could be a sign of creativity.  Imagine if we had put Albert Einstein on Adderall.  What might this have done to his creative genius?  Alfie Kohn writes in ‘The Brighter Side of Human Nature’ that we tend to assume that behavioral problems have a biological source, even when there is no supporting evidence.  

​According to the Journal of Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, ADHD is associated with a dysfunction in the brain's dopamine system.  Drugs are used to change these neurotransmitter levels in the child's brain.  According to the Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, ADHD is overdiagnosed, and children are receiving addictive drugs with potentially injurious outcomes.

​Why not just change the child's lifestyle instead?  According to the Journal of Psychological Research, replacing drugs with foods high in L-Tyrosine can naturally increase dopamine levels.  Foods with Quercetin can also increase the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.  A study published in Molecules found significant increases in norepinephrine and dopamine levels from consuming polyphenols in plant foods.  Consuming more fiber can also help.  Fiber slows down the absorption of blood glucose and keeps it at normal levels, and when combined with regular exercise, it can help children to concentrate.

​So, how would we know whether changing lifestyle or prescribing drugs is the more advantageous option for treating children diagnosed with ADHD?  What if researchers were to design a study with a large sample size of ADHD-diagnosed children, comparing the effects of lifestyle changes with the effects of drugs and including a placebo group? The study would have to control for the family stress variable, which can cause children to have trouble focusing. Regardless of the results of the study, it is unlikely that lifestyle changes would be substituted for drugs unless prescribing drugs is no longer connected with monetary gain.

~Niyati