Apparently, elite athletes with ADHD in American colleges are 8%.
The percentage might tell you a lot or a little, but to put it in better context, we’ll give you another: ADHD is estimated to affect 2.5 percent of the American adult population.
This means that, proportionately, there are many more elite college athletes experiencing this particular condition than there are in the general population.
These numbers have interested that part of medical research applied to sports that has wondered whether ADHD (i.e., “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” or in Italian “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”) can be considered an advantage, at least athletically speaking.
First of all: what is ADHD/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
If you have heard of ADHD before, you probably think of attention difficulties and hyperactivity.
ADHD is a mode of brain functioning that diverges from those considered normal.
That is why it is classified as neurodivergence.
So are autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The medical world does not define them as different (divergent, precisely) modes of brain functioning that can give particular abilities to those who have them, and not as “dysfunctions” or problems to be corrected.
ADHD in particular can prove useful in the hypercompetitive world of competition, as it allows some athletes to enter a state of “flow” during competition, greatly improving performance.
Under “normal” conditions, however, ADHD manifests itself as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Each of these traits brings problems but also, in the sports context, benefits.
In particular, inattention involves difficulty in staying focused at school or work, organizing one’s time and money, and has as side effects school difficulties, frequent loss of personal items (keys, money, etc.); hyperactivity involves inability to sit still for long periods of time (again: in school, sitting at a desk or office), accelerated and sometimes unintelligible speech, and inability to relax; impulsiveness, finally, it can lead people with ADHD to not wait their turn to speak, to interrupt others, and to react too quickly to situations, without properly assessing the consequences.
From another point of view
What makes an athlete with ADHD better than one who does not have it?
Many elite athletes tell the tale, and among them, to name just two, are Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, both award-winning Olympic athletes.
One of the traits they have in common is their ability to hyperfocus, which allows them to enter a state of “flow” during competition.
Phelps himself recounts that swimming was the only way he knew how to slow down time and calm his overactive mind.
Swimming as fast as only he could, paradoxically, helped him slow down.
What are disadvantages in “normal” life can in short turn out to be advantages in sports.
For example , impulsiveness – problematic in everyday life – on the playing field is transformed into the ability to make quick decisions and react instantly to stimuli. Hyperfocusing allows them to concentrate hard on what they are doing on the playing field, and it is no coincidence that athletes with ADHD often describe this feeling as “being in flow.” In contrast, difficulty maintaining focus would make them perform better under pressure.
Routine and repetitive situations lead them to distraction while high-pressure situations (such as competitions) instead make them perform at their best.
It’s not all gold
The same characteristics that may benefit athletes with ADHD may also have disadvantages, such as:
- Increased exposure to injury, as impulsivity can increase the risk of accidents and injuries.
- Burnout and stress management: athletes with ADHD may have difficulty balancing sports commitments with other responsibilities, leading to an increased risk of burnout.
The concentration they are able to put into sports in short may unbalance their attentions to other aspects of life, exacerbating the traits we were describing earlier, such as difficulty managing time, money, or work, as a result of the difficulty in organization.
ADHD in female athletes
ADHD has another characteristic: it manifests differently between men and women.
Women, including female athletes, often have less obvious symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, but may instead struggle more with disorganization, procrastination, and excessive perfectionism.
This makes ADHD more difficult to diagnose since it can also border on OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
How to manage ADHD in sports
The athletic success of an athlete with ADHD often depends on effective management of the disorder.
The key is proper diagnosis and an individualized treatment plan, as ADHD is often contained and controlled with the use of stimulant medication and behavioral protocols or a combination of both.
Some athletes also report receiving benefits from natural methods such as meditation or mindfulness or cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Drugs among others can give side effects such as insomnia or increased blood pressure.
Stimulants are also subject to strict anti-doping regulations, requiring athletes who use them to have special dispensations.
Finally, because several athletes with ADHD perceive it as an advantage, they fear that using drugs may “dampen” its benefits.
In short, ADHD may represent an unexpected resource for some elite athletes.
Hyperfocus, the ability to make quick decisions, and better stress management under pressure are just some of the characteristics that may give them an advantage during competitions.
(Via Women’s Health Mag)