How Fidget Tools Help with ADHD: Science-Backed Benefits
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges with focus, impulse control, and regulating hyperactivity. Living with ADHD can be debilitating for many, as the brain wrestles with competing thoughts, impulses, and sensory input, an exhausting tug-of-war that...
ADHD and Fidgeting: Why It Happens and How It Helps with Focus
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how the brain manages attention, impulses, and energy. People with ADHD often struggle to stay focused on tasks they find uninteresting, control sudden urges, or sit still for long periods. Therefore,...
How Fidget Tools Help with Stress: Do They Really Work?
Stress is our body’s natural response to challenges and changes. When we feel stressed, our body releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can speed up the heartbeat, tense our muscles, and even cause headaches or fatigue. At the same...
How Fidgeting Improves Focus and Productivity
Fidgeting is a natural, subconscious behavior that almost everyone does without even realizing it. It could be tapping your foot, twisting a pen, or shifting your seat. All these small movements are just part of how our bodies work. However,...
Studies suggest that roughly 30-50% of children diagnosed with ADHD also have a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) as defined by the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). There is some overlap in the symptoms of ADHD and SLDs, but individuals diagnosed with both experience cognition unique to their diagnoses.
Working memory refers to the storage and retrieval system pertaining to short-term information. People with ADHD have demonstrated significant impairments in working memory, affecting their performance in certain subjects, their perception of time, and sometimes their ability to create long-term memories.
Hyperfocus is generally defined as a deep and consuming state of fixation thought to result from irregularly low baseline levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Research shows people with ADHD experience states of hyperfocus at higher rates than their neurotypical peers, often to the point of functional impairment.
Studies show ADHD causes people to engage in risky behavior at higher rates than their neurotypical peers, particularly if their condition is predominantly impulsive and hyperactive rather than inattentive. This is largely due to what research calls "sensation-seeking" and the constant pursuit of positive stimulation. Because of this tendency, people with ADHD tend to weigh possible benefits more heavily than risks, prioritizing positive stimulation over any likelihood of negative outcomes.
Burnout is an ongoing feeling of mental and physical exhaustion generally triggered by excessive, prolonged stress concerning responsibilities, especially those in employment and education. Studies have found that people with ADHD are significantly more likely to experience burnout, and at a higher intensity than neurotypical individuals. This can create difficulty in relationships, work, school, and personal matters. Burnout in people with ADHD is often a complex occurrence with multiple causes, exacerbated by the stress of overcompensation.