Nature - An ADHD Alternative Treatment
My
mother’s warning; “You are going to rot your brain out...” still
rings through my mind whenever I spend too much time in front of
the television set.
I grew up in a time when mothers shooed their children out -
rain, snow or shine - to get a breath of fresh air. Our
television set tuned in to only four or five channels and those
channels signed off at midnight. It would be years before cable
television, satellite dish, VCRs and Nintendo would debut. Lazy
summer days were spent riding bicycles for hours because there
wasn’t much of anything better to do.
This period of time was also a few decades before Ritalin and
Attention Deficit would become commonplace terms.
I have long believed that inactive hours spent indoors has
contributed to the increased incidence of Attention Deficit
Disorder. A recent study, published in the September 2004 issue
of the “American Journal of Public Health,” validates that
believe.
University of Illinois researchers studied nature as an ADHD
natural treatment. This study showed that children with ADHD
benefit from time outdoors enjoying nature with a significant
reduction of ADHD symptoms.
Researchers of this nationwide recruited the parents of 322 boys
and 84 girls, all diagnosed with ADHD, through ads in major
newspapers and the Internet. Participants, ages 5 to18, spent
time in a variety of settings which varied from big cities to
rural settings. Some activities were conducted indoors, others
in outdoor places without much greenery such as parking lots and
downtown areas and other activities were in "green" areas such
as a tree-lined street, back yards or parks. The parents were
interviewed and asked to report how their children performed
after participating in a wide range of activities.
The researchers found that symptoms were reduced most in green
outdoor settings, even when the same activities were compared
across different settings. Researchers believe that simply
incorporating nature into a child’s day could be widely
effective in reducing ADHD symptoms.
Based on the results of this ADHD natural treatment study,
researchers recommend that children with ADHD spend quality
after-school hours and weekend time outdoors enjoying nature.
Study authors Frances E. Kuo and Andrea Faber Taylor suggested
that daily doses of ''green time'' might supplement medications
and behavioral approaches to ADHD if clinical trials and
additional research confirm the value of nature as a natural
treatment for ADHD.
The study findings indicate that exposure to ordinary natural
settings in the course of common after-school and weekend
activities may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit
symptoms in children.
In each comparison (there were 56 in all), green outdoor
activities received more positive ratings over the activities
taking place in other settings. In 54 of the 56, the difference
was significant, signaling that the findings were consistent.
Researchers said that exposing ADHD children to nature is an
affordable, healthy method of controlling symptoms. Researchers
also suggested that daily doses of "green time" can supplement
medications and other traditional treatments of ADHD.
Simply using nature may offer a way to help manage ADHD symptoms
that is readily available, doesn't have any stigma associated
with it, doesn't cost anything, and doesn't have any side
effects.
ADHD natural “green” treatment has endless possibilities, many
of which might closely resemble childhoods from years long past.
Here are just a few ideas for increasing "green time":
_ Play in a green yard or ball field at recess and after school.
_ Take after-dinner walks.
_ Make a scarecrow.
_ Doing class work or homework outside or at a window with a
relatively green view.
_ Build a birdhouse.
_ Grow an outdoor garden.
_ Bike, ski, sled, inline skate...
_ Visit a nature center.
_ Choose a greener route for the walk to school.
_ Participate in local nature clean-ups.
_ Take up bird watching.
_ Star gaze.
Jeannine Virtue is a freelance writer with a focus on issues
relating to Attention Deficit Disorder. For research-based
information about Attention Deficit Disorder, practical tips to
help parents survive the task of raising Attention Deficit
children and information about effective Ritalin alternatives,
please visit www.add-adhd-help-center.com.
Related Article:
Natural Remedies for ADHD and ADD
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