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PhD Academy Award
Relationships between physical activity and executive function in children with ADHD: does sleep matter? (PhD Academy Award)
  1. Xiao Liang1,2
  1. 1 Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
  2. 2 Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
  1. Correspondence to Dr Xiao Liang, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China; shawn.liang{at}polyu.edu.hk

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106789

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    What did i do?

    I investigated whether physical activity (PA) benefits executive functions (EFs) and psychological health in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    Why did I do it?

    ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by aberrant levels of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. ADHD symptoms are thought to reflect underlying EFs impairments, which may persist throughout individuals’ lifetimes without adequate treatment. There is no curative intervention for ADHD, limited by the possible side effects of medication treatment. As the WHO recommended, PA could be an adjunct non-pharmacological intervention for children with ADHD to improve impaired cognition and psychological health.1 Still, little is known about the mechanisms by which PA exerts its effects on EFs in children with ADHD.

    Several potential mediators (neurobiological, psychosocial and behavioural factors) have been identified that help to explain how PA improves psychological health and cognition in healthy children.2 Regarding children with ADHD, the potential mechanisms of the neurobiological hypothesis have been explored well by randomised controlled trials (RCTs).3 But the underlining psychosocial and behavioural mediators in the relationships between PA and psychological health were limited by the cross-sectional design (eg, resilience and motor proficiency).4 5 Few studies have investigated PA intervention’s effect on EFs underlining behavioural mechanisms, such as sleep.2 Therefore, the overall aim of my study was to examine the effects of PA on EFs and explore the potential behavioural mechanism of sleep in children with ADHD.

    How did I do it?

    To investigate the effects of PA interventions on EFs and explore the potential role of sleep …

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    Footnotes

    • Collaborators Professor Cindy Hui-ping Sit from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dr Peng Wang from the Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College.

    • Contributors XL was responsible for the studies, supervised by Cindy Hui-ping Sit.

    • Funding The author has not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.