Effect of Regular Aerobic Exercises on Behavioral, Cognitive and Psychological Response in Patients with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Background and purpose: Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioral disorder started in childhood and is characterized by one or a combination of three behaviors, named hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsiveness. The aim of this study was to find out the value of aerobic exercises on improvement symptoms of ADHD. Patients, Materials and Methods: This study included 84 students diagnosed as having ADHD. Their age ranged from eleven to sixteen years. The students were randomly divided into two equal groups. The exercise group received ten weeks aerobic exercises program included upper limb, lower limb, trunk and neck exercises as well as running three sessions per week( In the first four weeks the session lasted for about 40 minutes and in the last six weeks the session extended to be 50 minutes). Behavior Rating scale was used to assess the students behavior before starting and after the end of ten weeks of the exercise program. Results: Results of the exercise group revealed a significant improvement in three of the five items involved in the scale(attention, motor skills and academic and classroom behavior) with p 0.05). Conclusion: It could be concluded that regular aerobic exercises program has a positive effect in improving symptoms of ADHD. (Gehan M. Ahmed and Samiha Mohamed. Effect of Regular Aerobic Exercises on Behavioral, Cognitive and Psychological Response in Patients with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Life Science Journal. 2011;8(2):366-371) (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com .