{"id":85980,"date":"2024-10-02T13:22:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T11:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runlovers.it\/2024\/the-superpower-of-elite-athletes-with-adhd\/"},"modified":"2024-10-02T13:22:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T11:22:52","slug":"the-superpower-of-elite-athletes-with-adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runlovers.it\/en\/2024\/the-superpower-of-elite-athletes-with-adhd\/","title":{"rendered":"The superpower of elite athletes with ADHD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apparently<\/span>, elite athletes with ADHD in American colleges are 8%.
\nThe 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.
\nThis means that, proportionately, there are many more elite college athletes experiencing this particular condition than there are in the general population.
\nThese 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. <\/p>\n

First of all: what is ADHD\/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder<\/h3>\n

If you have heard of ADHD before, you probably think of attention difficulties and hyperactivity.
\nADHD is a mode of brain functioning that diverges from those considered normal.
\nThat is why it is classified as neurodivergence.
\nSo are autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
\nThe 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.
\nADHD 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.
\nUnder “normal” conditions, however, ADHD manifests itself as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
\nEach of these traits brings problems but also, in the sports context, benefits.
\nIn particular, inattention<\/strong> 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<\/strong> 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<\/strong>, 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. <\/p>\n

From another point of view<\/h2>\n

What makes an athlete with ADHD better than one who does not have it?
\nMany elite athletes tell the tale, and among them, to name just two, are Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, both award-winning Olympic athletes.
\nOne of the traits they have in common is their ability to hyperfocus<\/strong>, which allows them to enter a state of “flow” during competition.
\nPhelps himself recounts that swimming was the only way he knew how to slow down time and calm his overactive mind.
\nSwimming as fast as only he could, paradoxically, helped him slow down.
\nWhat are disadvantages in “normal” life can in short turn out to be advantages in sports.
\nFor example , impulsiveness<\/strong> – problematic in everyday life – on the playing field is transformed into the ability to make quick decisions<\/strong> and react instantly to stimuli. Hyperfocusing<\/strong> 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<\/strong> would make them perform better under pressure.
\nRoutine and repetitive situations lead them to distraction while high-pressure situations (such as competitions) instead make them perform at their best. <\/p>\n

It’s not all gold<\/h3>\n

The same characteristics that may benefit athletes with ADHD may also have disadvantages, such as: <\/p>\n