28 Jul Benefits of Swimming for ADHDers
The end of summer is on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean your ADHDer should stop benefiting from swimming. There is plentiful research stating swimming can be beneficial beyond being a fun activity and a safety skill.
Why Swimming?
Think of the various elements of swimming. It can be indoors or outside. Quiet or load. Solitary or social. Relaxing or invigorating. The sensory experience when swimming can be tailored to the needs of your child and can provides many benefits. According to Henry Ford Pediatrician Leonard Pollack, M.D., individual sports, such as swimming may be more beneficial for children with ADHD than traditional team sports. In fact, there are numerous studies that suggest that swimming activity may have positive implications for motor development, cognitive function, behavior, and academic performance.
Motor Development
Swimming can promote gross motor coordination and motor planning as well as efficient motor patterns. It can also provide age-appropriate motor and physical experiences and aerobic exercise. Swimming is often encouraged as a great activity for incorporating the left and right planes of the body needed for skills like bilateral coordination.
Cognitive Function
Swimming in water with rhythmic and repetitive movement can help to improve cognition. This can include concentration and attention as well as response time and memory. The flow of movement in water provides a unique opportunity to be in creative thought while also moving the body in a safe space.
Behavior
Swimming can also be exciting for someone that needs excessive input to expel energy like when the body is crashing into water and creating a loud splash. This allows an ADHDer to regulate their systems leading to management of their emotions and impulses. Swimming can improve mental health including symptoms of depression, which is common among ADHDers.
Academic Performance
In a 2022 study, children with ADHD from the experimental group completing organized recreational swimming activities showed improved academic performance in reading comprehension and math. Imagine how the sensory input you experience in water can also be calming when slow and easy training the brain to improve focus.
These are just some of the benefits of swimming for those with ADHD. Most children that swim regularly enjoy swimming. Hence, it seems like an easy choice to encourage swimming when other barriers are not a factor.
Amy Baez is the Founder of Playapy and Creator of the PALS Handwriting Program. She is a pediatric occupational therapist, speaker, and parent educator with 25 years of experience.