A new study from the PLOS One illustrates exactly how long-term Ritalin treatment affects brain chemistry. It’s believed that the causes of ADHD are due to an abnormally high number of dopamine transporters. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is handles attention and feelings of pleasure, and the transporters’ job is to filter them out of the brain. Stimulant medications like Ritalin work by preventing dopamine from leaving the brain, thus increasing its density and improving attention span and impulse control.

However, the study discovered that long-term Ritalin does impact brain chemistry by increasing the number of dopamine transporters. The researchers examined 18 adults with ADHD and who have never been tested or treated by it. The adults had their brains scanned at the start of the study period, and then again after a year of Ritalin use. Their brain scans were then compared to a control group of adults with no neurological disorders.

While the first brain scan did not show any difference in the number of dopamine transporters between the two groups, the second scan one year later did. Taking Ritalin for a year increased the amount of dopamine transporters by 24%, while the control group showed no difference in their brain. The study authors are not sure if the brain will return to its original state after discontinuing Ritalin treatment, but their findings do provide a lot of insight as to why ADHD medications reduce their efficacy several years down the road.

Popping a pill might be a great quick fix for improved focus and productivity, but lasting recovery from ADHD requires a holistic treatment that addresses its causes and eliminates the problem from the root.

How many kids diagnosed with ADHD are really suffering from the disorder? Last week, we talked about how ADHD might be a sleep disorder in disguise. Today, there is more research that suggests a link between hyperactive children and an artificial food coloring called red dye 40.

We have been using artificial dyes on our food, cosmetics, and personal care products for almost 150 years. In 1880s, the US government started to oversee the use of these ingredients and approved 15 dyes by 1931. Six of these dyes are still being used today. But are you aware that petroleum is the base ingredient for all chemical dyes?

I recently saw a fascinating video featuring neuropsychologist Dr. Michael Wolff, who specializes in children with hyperactivity disorders, and one of his young patients. Laura Kitchen began to notice a significant personality change in her six-year-old son Thomas. He used to be a self-sufficient child who could play quietly on his own, but then he soon started being uncontrollably hyperactive and unable to focus on anything. Worried that he might have ADHD, Laura took Thomas to Dr. Wolff, who recommended getting rid of foods containing Red Dye 40 from his diet.

Laura observed that Thomas’s behavior did change after eating candy with the dye. About 15 minutes after consuming Red Dye 40, he would stop playing calmly and start becoming uncontrollable.

According to Dr. Wolff, Thomas reacted to the dye in this manner because the body is not used to consuming a large number of petroleum-based foods. Petroleum can cause inflammation, a disconnect along the nerves that run through the brain. This interferes with the planning, reasoning, and decision-making areas of the mind, which are sensitive to food dyes. Petroleum-based foods also affect part of the brain associated with attention and impulse control, which explains how they can cause ADHD-like symptoms, or make ADHD symptoms worse among children already affected by the disorder.

So why is Red Dye 40 still being widely used in foods? And why hasn’t the FDA removed this dye from their list of approved ingredients? Although the FDA has started to investigate ADHD and food dyes, this is their most recent statement:

Individual anecdotal experiences from the elimination of a particular food item may not have been performed in a scientific manner and that many other factors may be responsible for any observed behavioral changes. The FDA continues to be engaged in the scientific and regulatory review of color additives in food and their potential impact on various populations, including children.

How often do your children eat foods with artificial dyes? Consider doing an experiment where they avoid foods with artificial food coloring for a week and see if their behavior changes.

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Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep, or it’s detrimental effects to your child’s mood and attention span. This is my main takeaway from an illuminating article written by Dr. Vatsal Thakkar in the New York Times. He examines childhood ADHD and poses an interesting question: what if cases of attention deficit disorder are really just undiagnosed sleep disorders?

It’s a possibility that many parents need to consider as more and more children get diagnosed with ADHD. Today, an estimated 12% of school-aged children have the disorder, and are often given powerful stimulant medications to manage the symptoms. But as I have mentioned time and again, ADHD is often the tip of the iceberg that hides an underlying disorder.

As Dr. Thakkar points out, many ADHD symptoms in children and adults resemble symptoms of disordered or insufficient sleep. In children, the line between ADHD symptoms and the effects of sleep deprivation can be blurred. An ADHD diagnosis usually occurs after a child exhibits some or all of the following behavioral issues:

These ADHD-like behaviors get in the way of a child’s intellectual and social development, and often cause problems at school and at home. But a number of recent study shows that poor quality sleep can also resemble these symptoms. There’s strong evidence that shows how sleep apnea exhibits many of the same symptoms, and cause children to suffer from the same behavioral problems as those diagnosed with ADHD.

Given the strong similarities between ADHD and kids and adults, it’s not hard to see why a misdiagnosis is possible. This risk increases when we consider that many doctors overlook sleep problems when evaluating a child’s behavior. Researchers discovered that less than 1 in 5 pediatricians surveyed had training in testing for sleep disorders, and fewer than 1 in 6 felt confident about their ability to advice parents about their children’s sleep.

One thing you can do is to encourage healthy sleeping habits at home. Set limits against the permanently “wired” culture kids have today. As the article points out, the increase of ADHD cases in the 1990s and 2000s also coincides with the rise of personal technology and the digital age. Tablets, laptops, and mobile phones emit a light that interferes with the body’s melatonin levels, which disrupts sleep cycles. Make your child’s bedroom a gadget-free sanctuary, and impose limits to how long these devices can be used before bedtime.

Also consider the possibility that your child might have a sleep dysfunction like apnea. Ask your doctor about this and inquire if there are any specialists that you can see.

How much sleep does your child get each not? Not enough? It might be time to change that.

Finals season is approaching, and with college or graduate school looming ahead, many ADHD students feel the pressure to perform. When you’re trying succeed in a “typical” education system with your “atypical” brain wiring, the end of the school year is a mess of deadlines and tests. The temptation to load up on stimulant ADHD medication to keep up is great, but there are ways to get by without having to resort to these substances.

I spoke to a few ADHD students, and they were happy to share some tried and tested study tips that got them through the worst finals week has to offer.

Take notes while studying

While you go through your course materials, write or type notes and attach them directly onto passages you’re reading. Look out for the following items:

Taking note of these items will not only help you remember them; it will give you a more thorough understanding of the topic.

Make deadlines and stick to them

When your executive functioning is compromised by ADHD symptoms, saying on track is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Sometimes, it’s as though people with ADHD have too much attention, rather than too little. So much stimuli competes for your immediate attention, regardless of how important they are.

Divide your studying into manageable chunks, and create a schedule for reviewing them. Here are some coping strategies to sticking to your deadlines:

Take exams your way

There is no right or wrong way to answer an exam. Be honest with yourself about your preferred way of tackling the questions. Here are some tips you can use:

Reach out to your support system

There’s no need to go through the stress of finals week alone. When you feel like you’re reaching your breaking point, don’t be afraid to contact your parents, therapists, or friends who can help you decompress.

Now that the sun is out and the weather is warmer, helping your child manage his or her ADHD symptoms can be as simple as going outside. We’ve talked about the benefits of exercise and outdoor activities for children with attention deficiencies or hyperactivity before. These benefits are backed up by research; a study published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing discovered that even the briefest exposure to green outdoor settings resulted in milder symptoms among kids with ADHD.

Here are four great outdoor activities for your child to try this spring.

Ball sports

Kids that can’t sit still finally have the chance to release their pent-up energy with outdoor ball sports. If he or she isn’t part of a sports team yet, enroll your child in an after-school baseball, soccer, or football camp. Not only do these sports serve as a great outlet for your child’s energy, but they instill great skills like teamwork and discipline too.

Outdoor reading

Does your ADHD child zone out at school but not when it comes to books? Consider an outdoor readathon. Instead of spending the afternoon cooped up in the living room, get your child reading outside. Gather a large blanket, pillow, a large stack of books, and healthy snacks. It’s a great way to soak up some sunlight with little effort, not to mention a good opportunity to finish that novel you’ve been reading.

Visit a local farm

For younger kids with ADHD, a walking tour at the local farm will do wonders. Farms have a number of hands-on, creative outdoor activities that kids will love, from petting animals to picking fruits and vegetables. Some farms also have spring and summer camps where kids “work” on the farm. This is a great opportunity for kids to get green time while learning responsibility.

Water games

If you have a big garden or front lawn, the warmer months are a great time for water fun. Turn the sprinklers on and let your child play in the water, or fill up balloons with water for a high-adrenaline water-balloon fight.

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Ever wonder why ADHD is more prevalent in North America and Europe, and not quite so in more sunny locations? According to a pioneering study in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the ADHD diagnosis occurs less in places with intense sunshine.

The study, which was done by a research team from Utrecht University, Research Institute Brainclinics, Leiden University, and Ohio State University compared solar intensity measures used by the solar energy industry, and related it to ADHD cases by geographical region. They looked at data from the sunny US southwest, and other countries with high solar intensity like Spain and Mexico.

Based on this data, the research team determined that 37-57% of the variations in ADHD rates is related to sun intensity. While there’s no concrete explanation for this, the researchers speculate that our body clocks may the key to ADHD’s connection to sun exposure. The sun acts to prevent disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythms, which respond to light and darkness and regulates the body’s internal clock.

As children around the world spend more time indoors in front of a computer or television, and use hand-held devices in the hours leading to bedtime, the blue light emitted by these devices disrupt their circadian rhythm. As a result, children have difficulty sleeping, which leads to inattentive and hyperactive behavior associated with ADHD. Increased sun exposure during the day can help reset the internal clock, preventing sleep disorders.

As the sun finally starts peeking in between clouds this spring, encourage your child to spend more time enjoying the great outdoors. Go on a beach vacation with the family, or enroll your child in outdoor sports like football to increase his or her sun exposure.

At the UnRitalin Solution, we encourage children to get a good night’s sleep every evening – even on weekends. Research shows that ADHD symptoms like inattention get worse with inadequate sleep, because their brains don’t have time to recharge and recover. But allotting 8 hours each night for sleep is not enough – you have to make sure that your child stays asleep.

New research from the journal Sleep reveals that children who suffer sleep apnea are likely to have ADHD symptoms, behavior problems, and learning difficulties. Sleep apnea is a type of chronic disordered breathing where you take a few pauses in breathing in your sleep.  These pauses in breath move you from deep sleep to light sleep, giving you poor sleep quality and making you tired during the day.

Using data from the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea (TuCASA) from the last 5 years, the research team looked at how sleep apnea affects the neurobehavioral functions of 263 children aged 6 to 11 years old. The aim of the study was to determine if children with different sleep apnea symptoms were more likely to have ADHD symptoms and other behavioral issues.

The children all completed an overnight sleep analysis, and filled a battery of assessments that included parental and self-reported scales.  Of the children in the group, 21 youngsters suffered from persistent sleep apnea, 23 developed sleep apnea during the study period, and 41 originally had sleep apnea but seemed to have overcome it after the five-year follow-up.

It was discovered that the children with incidental sleep apnea were four or five times more likely to have behavioral issues, while those suffering from the persistent form were 6 times more likely to experience such issues. Additionally, compared to children who breathed well into the night, those with sleep apnea experienced some forms of attention deficit, hyperactivity, poor communication, and disruptive behaviors. They were also reported to be seven times more likely to have learning difficulties and below-average grades at school.

This new research provides critical information for parents who are looking for ADHD treatment options. Instead of turning to ADHD medication as a solution, try and see if this common childhood problem or other sleep-related issues contributes to your child’s inattention, behavioral problems, or poor school performance.

The good news is that sleep apnea appears to go away on its own during adolescence. Until then, start identifying and implementing sleep solutions so your child can get a good night’s sleep and manage his or her ADHD symptoms more effectively.

A good ADHD natural treatment addresses the underlying causes of ADHD symptoms by the root. One common cause is a deficiency in essential fatty acids and lipids today’s modern diet, which affects the structure of brain cells and contributes to neurological problems. New research from the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics show that supplementing with soy-derived phosphatidylserine (PS) can do much to replenish lost lipids and alleviate short attention spans, poor memory, and impulsive behavior.

Lipids and ADHD

Essential fatty acids and lipids make up the structure of all cell membranes, and make up 50% of the brain’s dry weight. Like vitamins and minerals, the body needs a continuous supply of these lipids from our diet; otherwise, you can expect to experience dermatological, cardiovascular, and neurological problems. Salmon is a great source of these healthy fats, as are legumes and nuts like flax or walnuts. However, the average modern meal contains too many processed and artificially flavored foods that fail to meet the brain’s demands for healthy lipids. This is why we recommend a diet change to treat ADHD, as well as supplementing with essential fatty acids.

What phosphatidylserine does for the brain

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a naturally-occurring phospholipid found in organs with high metabolic activity, like the brain and the heart. It has a wide variety of structural and regulatory functions, which includes regulating the activity of receptors. Deficiencies in PS in early childhood are linked to impairments in brain function, which can contribute to conditions like ADHD. Correcting any underlying deficiencies in this lipid can be key to helping kids overcome their ADHD symptoms, especially when done with other treatments.

Research findings

An international team of researchers came together to see if supplementing with soy-derived PS can improve ADHD symptoms among young children. They recruited 36 children aged 4 to 14 to be part of their randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. For two months, half the group took a daily placebo, while the other half took 200 mg soy-derived PS delivered as cocoa-flavored chews.

Results of the trial were promising, with kids from the PS group showing improvements in memory, inattention, impulsivity, and short-term auditory memory. It would be interesting to see further research on the study with a larger group of children, and to see if a more optimal dose of PS can be determined.

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One of the most disturbing trends is how stimulant ADHD medications like Ritalin and Adderall are now used as “study drugs” by high school and college students who need a performance boost.  While it’s easy to get these drugs from a friend diagnosed with the disorder, it’s particularly worrisome to note that they are often prescribed to children who do not meed the diagnostic criteria for the disorder.  New findings in the journal Neurology states that kids without the ADHD should never take these drugs to get ahead in school. Although ADHD medications themselves are not addictive, they have the potential for abuse, especially if its use is not restricted.

Methylphenidate (the generic name of Ritalin) is called a “stimulant” because it kick-starts the central nervous system into increase the production of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine.  These two brain chemicals are the ones responsible for attention, impulse control, and mood.  However, methylphenidates come from the same chemical family as cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines.  In fact, studies on lab rats and monkeys show that the effects of stimulant ADHD medications are no different from that of cocaine. This is why Ritalin and other ADHD medications are classified as Type II substances – they cannot be bought by anyone without a prescription from a doctor.  If abused or used improperly, they cause the same devastating side effects as cocaine and other illegal stimulants.

It’s easy to see why popping these pills is an attractive option for students.  ADHDmedications are “uppers”, with desirable side effects like insomnia, appetite suppression, weight loss, and short-term mood elevation.  One pill is enough to keep a student awake all night to type out a last-minute term paper.  However, the effects of these drugs only last several hours; when it does, it causes a “crash” that make a person feel sleepy, sluggish, or even depressed.  As with other uppers, a person can form a tolerance to the effect of stimulant medications, which means that he or she will need to take more of them to produce the same effects.  Soon, the person becomes used to taking the drug, and suddenly stopping it could lead to severe withdrawal symptoms characterized by extreme fatigue and depression.

Not all the effects of ADHD drugs are desirable, either. Methylphenidate can also cause uncomfortable short-term side effects like anxiety/nervousness, irritability, headaches, nausea, dizziness, tics, and blurred vision. As if these weren’t bad enough, long-term side effects include heart palpitations, blood pressure problems, and psychotic symptoms like distorted perceptions of reality and hallucinations.  The worst side effect of stimulant medication is death from heart failure.  Stimulants can damage the blood vessels in the heart, causing it to deteriorate and eventually fail after years of use.  Many children who died because of Ritalin had no heart conditions before they began taking the drug.

Although pharmacies are strict about selling methylphenidate, anyone with access to this drug can easily sell this under the counter.  You can prevent your children from being a casualty about this drug by educating them about the harmful side effects. Point out that there are other ways to accomplish their school work on time, and let them know that you are willing to help if they need assistance.

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In an ideal world, kids complete their homework without getting reminded or needing assistance in any way. But with an ADHD child at home, getting homework done is a marathon at best, and a war zone a worst. The situation gets even more complicated when there are several children in the house, and more than one with attention problems or learning disabilities. Here five ADHD homework solutions that can help your child get schoolwork accomplished with minimal conflict.

Set a time and place for doing schoolwork

Children with ADHD thrive when they follow a routine, and it’s important that homework hour be part of their weeknight schedule. Establish a specific time for doing homework and designate a quiet, distraction-free area of the house where schoolwork can be done. To prevent your child from trying to get out of doing homework, be strict about following the schedule and make it clear that this is non-negotiable. When homework hour comes, your child has to stop what he or she is doing and go straight to getting things done. Emphasize that the sooner homework gets accomplished, the sooner he and she can go back to do watching TV or doing other fun things.

Insist on keeping a homework journal

If the school hasn’t made this mandatory, have your child keep a homework journal to list down all tasks to do or tests to prepare for. The homework journal serves as your schedule for the evening, and teaches your child how to prioritize and structure his or her study schedule. It’s best to tackle harder tasks first and leave the easiest ones for the end of the hour. Go through the journal together and get things done according to what your child thinks is difficult or easy.

Be prepared to help

If your child needs supervision and assistance, be prepared to help out by looking through the homework yourself. Find out what is expected and what your child needs to do. Read through the chapters to get an idea of the topic so you can help your child formulate answers.

Read with the questions in mind

Keep a copy of homework questions by your side as your child reads through the material. Read with the questions in mind, and if the homework has multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions, answer as you go. Essay questions may require more than one read-through, so place a bookmark or to highlight important passages that may contain the answer.

Encourage your child to come up with answers themselves

It’s tempting to just tell your child what the correct answer is, but this won’t teach him or her to think independently. Instead, go through the topic together and ask questions that will help your child come up with the answer. This is particularly useful for assignments that require answering questions at the end of the chapter.