A randomized trial tested Pilates training for attention in 52 women with ADHD aged 20 to 50. None exercised regularly before the study. Sixty women were first split into two groups. Five were removed from the Pilates group for missing sessions, and three from the comparison group for taking stimulant medication.
The Pilates group did mat Pilates three times a week for 24 weeks, led by a coach. On average they attended 69.83 of 72 sessions. The comparison group kept their usual treatment.
After training, the Pilates group made fewer errors on a sustained attention task and had faster reaction times. The authors described these gains as large. They were still present six months later, after the women had been asked not to practice. The Pilates group also made fewer errors on a task that measures switching between rules. Those switching gains did not last. By the six-month check, total errors had returned to their starting level. Reaction times also got faster in the comparison group.
The authors note limits. The comparison group did no activity of its own. The study did not measure core ADHD symptoms, working memory or inhibition.
The authors suggest Pilates has high potential to build thinking skills in adults with ADHD, based on women aged 20 to 50, and that ongoing practice is probably needed to keep the effect.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: size of the Pilates advantage on sustained attention right after training (reaction time, omission errors, commission errors), d = 1.08, 0.97 and 9.7.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: size of the Pilates advantage on sustained attention at six-month follow-up (reaction time, omission errors, commission errors), d = 0.96, 1.65 and 1.76.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: size of the Pilates advantage on rule-switching errors right after training (perseverative, non-perseverative, total), d = 0.72, 0.41 and 4.69.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: size of the Pilates advantage on total rule-switching errors at six-month follow-up, d = 0.25.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: total rule-switching errors in the Pilates group (before, after, follow-up), 26.36 ± 3.81, 18.56 ± 5.02 and 23.44 ± 4.05.
- Kouhbanani, 2022: total rule-switching errors in the comparison group (before, after, follow-up), 26.77 ± 4.12, 26.44 ± 4.57 and 25.81 ± 5.29. What the terms mean:
- d (Cohen's d) shows how big the difference between groups was. 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.
- ± gives the average score followed by the standard deviation, which shows how spread out the scores were.
Source: Kouhbanani S, Zarenezhad S, Arabi S. Mind-body exercise affects attention switching and sustained attention in female adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A randomized, controlled trial with 6-month follow-up. Current Psychology (2022). doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03216-6