Hello everyone! For today's topic I decided to write about caffeine and how it can actually be helpful to kids with ADHD. This all came about when I was at work, as I mentioned before I work at a school with kids from grades K-8, recently I had a kid come into class with a Monster energy drink. At first I was in complete shock, I do have a big love for coffee but energy drinks scare me for some reason and seeing this 12 year old boy walking in with a big can of Monster really started to concern me a bit. I had asked him how he could drink something with a big amount of caffeine, He explains to me how the energy drink actually does the opposite effect on him because of his ADHD. I found that quite interesting and started to look into it a bit more.
After reading a bit more into it, caffeine stimulates our nervous systems and boots dopamine which helps our bodies with movement, attention, and focus. People with ADHD already take simulant medication which does a similar effect as caffeine. Everyone has a different reaction to caffeine, for some it calms them down but for others it may increase anxiety. However many parents and adults with ADHD have reported light to moderate caffeine use as a way to help boost focus and concentration. Giving a child that does not have ADHD can actually raise their blood pressure and interfere with their sleep. It could also effect their mood and create anxiety sometimes making it worse. Adults should only consume 400mg of caffeine a day, as a child should only consume 100mg per day,
At the end of the day, while someone may mange with a cup of coffee everyday, someone else may not. Just because your kid is acting crazy and is having a hard time staying focus does not mean to give them caffeine and expect the opposite effect, talk to your kids physician to see what works best for them.
Hi Litzy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this post. I can personally confirm for you that using caffeine does in fact have the opposite effect for someone with ADD. I had been self medicating with caffeine for several years before I was diagnosed with ADD. I'm now on proper medication, but still use caffeine to supplement if I feel my focus could use a little boost. Although caffeine is prevalent in many commercial drinks, I would recommend tea over soda or coffee. The caffeine in tea is much more manageable and does not have the added sugars of a soda.
Hi Litzy! Thank you so much for sharing, I didn't realize that caffeine could help with ADHD, I just knew it was something that helped with a spike in energy. I'm happy that you put to consult a physician as every child/adult is different and different things work for everyone but knowing that caffeine may be beneficial is huge as many people want to steer clear of prescription drugs for as long as they can (not that there is anything bad about them!). I think this is something worth doing a bit more research on so thank you so much for sharing again!
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