Children with ADHD and those who struggle with math often experience poor working memory, which impairs their ability to hold and manipulate information mentally. This cognitive challenge can significantly affect their academic performance and everyday life. Research by Brian Wexler highlights a promising intervention: providing aerobic exercise before and after math activities. His work demonstrates that such exercise stimulates the brain to form new neural pathways by promoting neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to regenerate neurons and strengthen connections.
Four effective ways to improve attention and focus using aerobic exercise and solving math problems are:
Combine Aerobic Exercise with Cognitive Tasks: Pairing aerobic workouts with cognitive challenges like math problems can enhance executive functions including attention,
memory, and problem-solving. Aerobic exercise triggers production of neurochemicals that promote brain plasticity, while solving math problems stimulates concentration, working memory, and mental flexibility.
Practice Math Problem Solving to Strengthen Focus: Regularly solving math problems trains sustained concentration, working memory, and cognitive control.
Engaging in mental math or counting exercises helps build mental stamina and the brain’s ability to filter distractions, improving overall attention span.
Use Focus Exercises Involving Numbers: Incorporate focus exercises such as counting backward, skipping numbers, or solving progressively harder math puzzles during study or breaks. These mental exercises complement the physical benefits of aerobic exercise by further sharpening cognitive flexibility and preventing mind-wandering.
In summary, a combination of consistent aerobic exercise to boost brain physiological function, along with regular practice of math problems and related cognitive exercises, effectively enhances attention and focus through both neural and mental training pathways.
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As a parent, I noticed how my two oldest son’s as preschoolers, were both extremely active, especially as they made cognitive gains. I pondered whether movement and brain growth had anything to do with each other. I had noticed that whenever there was a cognitive developmental leap, preceding it was that my two boys would become more physically active. Could movement be stimulating their brain growth causing a leap in ability and learning? This led me to the next question to ponder. Could it be that by giving stimulant medication, to children short-circuiting the brain into not producing the vital neurons for learning? I had come to this conclusion because amphetamines are
appetite supressants and can cause weight loss in healthy children. Studies in Japan and China after World War II, found a correlation between lack of nutrition and low IQ scores.
These drugs are found to be neurotoxic in laboratory rats, so I did not want my children taking these drugs. I felt there had to be a better solution. I felt there must be another way to treat ADHD and Autism when I discovered the work of Brian Wexler at Yale Univeristy.
A large study, exploring academic performance in children with ADHD using methylphenidate, provides hard evidence that highlight true relationship between medication and school achievement.
This study can be referenced here: "Real-world" effectiveness of methylphenidate in improving the academic achievement of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosed students-A systematic review
J Clin Pharm Ther
. 2022 Jan;47(1):6-23. doi: 10.1111/jcpt.13486. Epub 2021 Jul 13.
Lower Academic Performance on Medication: Children with ADHD on methylphenidate tended to perform worse academically compared to their peers without ADHD or without medication.
This suggests that while methylphenidate addresses ADHD symptoms, these children still face academic challenges even though they are taking the ADHD medication as presscribed.
Timing of Medication Initiation: Children who began methylphenidate treatment earlier in life were observed to have lower academic scores compared to those who started treatment later.
No Clear Dose-Response Relationship: There was no consistent evidence that higher doses of methylphenidate translated to better academic grades.
This aligns with meta-analyses showing that dosage variations do not significantly affect academic outcomes.
Symptom Control vs. Academic Learning: Methylphenidate is more effective in improving behavioral symptoms (attention, hyperactivity)
rather than directly enhancing the acquisition of academic knowledge or leading to better grades. For example, it often improves behavior and on-task behavior but does not improve grades or mastery of the academic material.
Real-World Effectiveness: Systematic reviews and studies with large samples (up to 12,000+ children) have litter or no academic benefits from methylphenidate over the long term.
Overall, the evidence indicates that methylphenidate helps manage core ADHD symptoms in the short term and often requires higher and higher doses that interfere with schoolwork but does not
not support improvement in academic performance or fully normalize school achievement.
These conclusions are supported by systematic reviews and studies involving thousands of children, including a review where five of nine included studies suggested some improvement with methylphenidate,
but the most rigorously designed studies found no significant long-term academic benefit. The findings emphasize that alternatives to ADHD medication like Dr. Bruce Wexler's Bruce E. Wexler, M.D. is a professor emeritus of psychiatry
and senior research scientist at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Neurocognitive Research Laboratory at the Connecticut Mental Health Center and his findings is the best practive approach to improving
learning and achievement in children with ADHD.
Brain Training
ADHD and Autism
Aerobic exercise increases blood flow and releases important neurotrophic factors like BDNF, which support neuron growth and survival, effectively preparing the brain to absorb and retain new information more efficiently.
Similarly, Dr. Lindamood-Bell’s reading program offers another avenue for enhancing cognitive abilities. This program targets specific reading skills and also fosters neuroplastic changes by training key cognitive functions, further supporting improved neural connectivity and performance.
The effectiveness of these interventions goes beyond improved test scores on traditional pencil-and-paper assessments.
Advanced imaging techniques such as MRI and fMRI provide hard evidence by revealing physical changes and increased activity in brain regions involved in memory, attention, and executive functions following aerobic exercise and cognitive training.
In addition to exercise and targeted training programs, nutrition plays a vital role in brain development. Adequate intake of protein and essential nutrients—especially iodine and selenium—is critical for healthy brain growth. Deficiencies in these nutrients during infancy and early childhood are well-known to slow brain development and result in cognitive impairments. For instance, the Japanese diet, rich in fish and seaweed, provides abundant sources of iodine and selenium, contributing to optimal brain function.
Together, these findings suggest a comprehensive approach—combining aerobic exercise, targeted cognitive training, and proper nutrition—can effectively support brain development and improve cognitive outcomes in children facing challenges such as ADHD and math difficulties. The use of neuroimaging techniques provides solid scientific confirmation that these interventions produce real, measurable changes in brain structure and function.
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Neuroplasticity and Brain Growth and Development
Key Points from the Evidence