ADHD & Exercise  

Is exercise helpful for ADHD?

Absolutely!

You’ve probably heard of the usual reasons to exercise like strength, mental health, well-being, and longevity. We also have some exciting research about the benefits of exercise specifically in ADHD.

But before you sign your life away to a year-long gym membership, let’s explore some of the important caveats in this research.

ADHD can make starting exercise hard

“Do some exercise” is easier said than done. It involves:

• Remembering to exercise

• Deciding what exercise to do

• Finding clothes and getting changed

• Getting somewhere

• Starting

• Staying with it

• Remembering to do it again next time

Here’s a few tips that might put exercise more front of mind:

• Incorporate movement into your current routines by taking the stairs and walking to and from places

• Keep exercise clothes visible

• Do activities that you genuinely enjoy

• Exercise with someone

• Try classes or other scheduled activities

• Choose short sessions

• Listen to something you enjoy like music, podcasts, or audiobooks

• How can I incorporate exercise?

There’s a lot of information out there that says you need exercise to fix this symptom and that quickly turns into “I’m failing my ADHD if I’m not exercising”.

There is no evidence that people with ADHD need to do more exercise or certain types of exercise. We do know that bursts of exercise can have meaningful impacts on ADHD symptoms. We also know that exercise can have meaningful impacts on mood and well-being.

Here’s a few ideas for getting started that might keep exercise more novel and less daunting:

• Start small, whether that’s frequency or duration or both.

• Try casual membership apps like ClassPass which give you access to lots of different gyms, studios, and classes without the commitment.

• Build movement into things you’re already doing like walking to the shops, walking to work, or taking the stairs.

• Play around with the time of day at which you exercise and see what suits you best. Remember that your exercise habits can look different every week.

• Body double and find an exercise buddy.

• If you’re setting a goal, make it less about changing your body.

• Keep it in mind that a burst of exercise might be a helpful tool for focus.

If you want to learn more, here’s a couple of helpful videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZP7pMW5wM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTIv5X8Bo1w

And a few interesting reads:

https://www.additudemag.com/the-adhd-exercise-solution/?srsltid=AfmBOophTe8wnJ_L4gTf_bfLolCzwjfXbi2u-eb2wVl1-oza73DpufYI

https://chadd.org/attention-article/physical-exercise-adhd-symptoms-and-mental-health/

How much exercise do I need to do?

If we want to get really specific, the recommendation is around 21 minutes a day. And that’s for ‘substantial’ health benefits. If you’re looking to get started now with something bite-sized, check this out: https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/f/fitness-how-to-start-exercising

At the moment, we have stronger evidence for single sessions of exercise than we do for regular exercise in terms of ADHD symptom management. For example, a recent review found moderate improvements in inhibitory control and small improvements in attention and restlessness in adults who engaged in a single session of exercise. Reviews that have looked at longer term exercise interventions however did not produce significant results in the same symptoms.

We know that regular exercise is important for general well-being so it’s not to say that having ADHD means you need to be extra adherent to that. Rather it’s having a back-pocket tool in that doing some movement before doing a task that requires sustained attention might be helpful.

You can read more about general physical activity guidelines here: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128

What kind of exercise should I do?

We currently have the strongest evidence for cardiovascular exercise in terms of ADHD symptom management. Cardiovascular exercise includes movement types like walking, running, swimming, cycling, dancing, and anything else that gets your heart rate up. We do have some strong data to support a single session of cardiovascular exercise in improving symptoms of ADHD.

Resistance exercise is any movement that works your muscles against an external force. This also includes body weight exercises. As it stands, we don’t have enough data to make a specific claim that resistance training is better or worse than cardio for ADHD symptom management. In general, we know that resistance training is great for bone health, muscle strength, and overall physical health.

Mind-body exercises like tai chi, yoga, and Pilates have also shown promise but again, not in any way to suggest it’s the superior form of exercise for ADHD symptom management.

It’s important to note that we don’t have consistent data to say that the greater the intensity, the greater the impact.

So to pull all of the research together, we don’t have a single type of exercise that’s going to be most beneficial for ADHD. The most helpful way to interpret that is the best exercise will likely be the one you can do and enjoy.

Exercise and brain chemistry

ADHD is associated with differences in the brain systems involved in attention, motivation, reward, and executive function. Exercise can have an impact on these brain systems whether you have ADHD or not by influencing two neurotransmitters, dopamine and noradrenaline.

Exercise can influence dopamine signalling which can have positive effects on cognition and mood. Dopamine is also involved in the reward system meaning that it can leave you feeling more energised, motivated, and emotionally regulated. Exercise can also influence noradrenaline which is important for alertness and attention.

Knowing the connection between exercise and brain chemistry might help you decide what time of day you’d like to exercise. At the moment we don’t have consistent data for one time of day being better than the other. But observing how exercise makes you feel might make one time of day more appealing over another. For example, you might observe that morning exercise sets you up for the day ahead. Or you might find exercise more helpful later in the day when you want to transition from one setting to another. Alternatively if you’re taking medication, you might find exercise to be a helpful top-up when you notice the medication starting to wear off.

Exercise, ADHD, and mental health

There is incredibly strong evidence that links exercise with improving mood and anxiety. There is also well-established evidence that people with ADHD have higher rates of low mood and anxiety.

Exercise does not have to work directly on ADHD symptoms for it to be of value. If you notice improvements in:

• Sleep

• Mood

• Anxiety

• Fitness

• Strength

• Wellbeing

then exercise is still having a beneficial impact on your life.

Last updated October 2026 
Written by Alex Thomson for ADHD Simple 

Important: This article is for information only. Diagnosis and treatment must be assessed and supervised by a qualified clinician. If you feel affected, talk to your GP. 

References: 

• Xu, S., Zhao, C., & Hu, L. (2026). The effects of acute and chronic exercise on executive functions and core symptoms in adults with ADHD: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 84, 103088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103088

• Yang, Y., Wu, C.-H., Sun, L., Zhang, T.-R., & Luo, J. (2025). The impact of physical activity on inhibitory control of adult ADHD: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Global Health, 15, 04025. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.15.04025

• Dastamooz, S., Sadeghi-Bahmani, D., Farahani, M. H. D., et al. (2023). The efficacy of physical exercise interventions on mental health, cognitive function, and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD: An umbrella review. eClinicalMedicine, 62, 102137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102137

• Zhu, F., Zhang, X., Wu, Y., Li, Y., Ren, Y., & Zhang, M. (2026). Physical exercise interventions for health outcomes in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: An umbrella review with meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 364, 117267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117267

• Türk, S., Korfmacher, A.-K., Gerger, H., van der Oord, S., & Christiansen, H. (2023). Interventions for ADHD in childhood and adolescence: A systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 99, 102271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102271

• Singh, B., et al. (2025). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: An umbrella review/meta-meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195

• Purgato, M., Cadorin, C., Prina, E., et al. (2024). Umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis: Physical activity as an effective therapeutic strategy for improving psychosocial outcomes in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 63(2), 172–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.04.017

Clinical guidelines

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (2018, updated 2025). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Diagnosis and management (NG87).

• Ministry of Health. (2025). New Zealand Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Clinical Principles Framework. Wellington: Ministry of Health.

• World Health Organization. (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. World Health Organization.