A 2024 review pooled seven randomized trials of mind-body exercise for people with ADHD. Together the trials included 268 people, all diagnosed with ADHD by standard criteria. Ages ranged from preschool children to adults with a mean age of about 35. Five trials tested yoga, one tested Pilates and one tested Tai Chi. Six programs lasted 6 to 24 weeks, and one was a single 12-minute session. Comparison groups included wait-lists, normal life, cooperative games and aerobic cycling.
Compared with control groups, mind-body exercise led to a large improvement in attention. The trials disagreed a lot with each other on this result. The review found no clear effect on executive function, emotional symptoms or hyperactivity and impulsivity. When the authors split the attention results by age, the exercise helped children and middle-aged adults but not young adults.
One check hinted that some studies might be missing, but a formal test found no sign of this. Five of the seven trials were rated at moderate risk of bias and two at high risk. The authors note that the small number of trials limits their conclusions. Most trials did not separate results by gender.
The authors conclude that mind-body exercise such as yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi is beneficial for attention in people with ADHD, while more evidence is needed before using it as an add-on treatment for other symptoms.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Peng, 2024: attention compared with control groups, SMD = -0.97, 95% CI (-1.56, -0.39), P < 0.05.
- Peng, 2024: how much the attention studies disagreed with each other, I² = 84.5%.
- Peng, 2024: executive function, SMD = -0.52, 95% CI (-1.15, 0.11), P > 0.05.
- Peng, 2024: emotional symptoms, SMD = 0.78, 95% CI (-0.37, 1.93), P > 0.05.
- Peng, 2024: hyperactivity and impulsivity, SMD = -0.17, 95% CI (-0.53, 0.2), P > 0.05.
- Peng, 2024: formal test for missing or unpublished studies (Egger's test), P = 0.757 > 0.05.
What the terms mean:
- SMD (standardized mean difference) is the size of the difference between groups on a common scale. Roughly, 0.2 is small, 0.5 is moderate and 0.8 is large. A minus sign shows the direction of the change, not its size.
- 95% CI (confidence interval) is the range the true effect likely falls in. If it crosses zero, the result may be no effect at all.
- P is how likely a result this big would be by chance alone. Below 0.05 is usually treated as unlikely to be chance.
- I² is how much the studies disagreed with each other. Higher means more disagreement.
- Egger's test is a check for whether small studies with weak results may be missing from the published record.
Source: Peng J, Wang W, Wang Y, et al.. Effects of mind-body exercise on individuals with ADHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry (2024). doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1490708