Star-shaped glitter in a jar

7 ADHD Mindfulness Exercises for Kids, Teens and Adults

Living with ADHD can be a journey of learning to practice mindfulness in order to make the world slow down. It can feel like you’re always moving too fast in comparison to others.

Sometimes, you may have difficulty making other people understand the condition, whether you have ADHD yourself or a loved one does. Fortunately, if you do, medications and therapy can help with the most intense symptoms and bring you to a clarity level that enables you to enjoy life. 

As with many conditions, though, sometimes you’ll want a quick and straightforward way to deal with your symptoms, without relying on therapists or drugs.

Anyone who’s dealt with a developmental condition or chronic illness knows that, although it’s necessary for your health, it gets tiring to call doctors or take medication continually. Mindfulness exercises can give you a boost whenever you feel burned out from conventional methods.

Mindful activities are perfect to use when you’re in public and feeling restless, or when you need to unwind at home. Countless versions exist for the numerous situations you may encounter on a daily basis, so you don’t have to feel lost if you can’t use a preferred coping skill in a specific environment. There’s likely another you can practice that’s more discreet or doesn’t require any extra tools.

Whatever you need to get from a mindful activity—calmness, happiness or self-awareness—a solution will exist, and to get you started, seven mindful solutions that have helped others have been outlined below.

Sensory observation


Hand touching grass out in sun

When your brain is on overload, taking stock of your surroundings can be an effective way to calm down. What do you currently see, feel, hear, smell and taste? Are there any sensations, objects or fragrances you never noticed until now?

People learn to tune things out to get through their day, and this can occur doubly for people with ADHD. Your mind may drift in several directions while you’re trying to get something specific done, but sensory observation techniques can assist in preventing this from happening.

For instance, start by observing the world that’s directly around you. Pick out an object for every colour of the rainbow, or pinpoint all the green items in a room. Mindful observation focuses on taking in the environment as it is—without judgment or off-topic thoughts.

The STOP method is a well-known sensory observation technique, involving four steps:

  • Stop:If you feel stressed, jittery or upset, stop what you’re doing for a minute or two. You may need to physically step back from the situation and place yourself somewhere that’s conducive to peace.
  • Take a breath: Take a few deep breaths to regulate your body and begin calming yourself down. Your mind may be ready to leave the situation behind, but your body could still be feeling the effects.
  • Observe: Look at what’s around you. Even if your surroundings aren’t particularly fascinating, you can find something small to focus on. Maybe there’s an oddly shaped mark on the wall or a thread on your sweater. Do you smell something pleasant or unappealing—or nothing at all? Are there noises, other than your breathing and heartbeat?
  • Proceed: Once you’ve observed for a few minutes, you can continue the rest of your day with a renewed perspective.

Other variations of this technique include mindful walking and the SEAT method, but they all embody the same core principles. Testing your sensory skills can help you ground yourself within a moment and avoid being swept away by racing thoughts. When you experience the world on multiple levels—by seeing, smelling or touching—you tie yourself to the present.

Yoga


Ideal for people of any age, Yoga encourages you to level your breathing and thoughts while keeping your body in one place. The point of Yoga isn’t to force yourself to stay still, but to practice being aware of your body positioning.

Having control over your body is one of the first steps to establishing power in other aspects of your life. After all, your body is the vessel that carries you through each day and sustains all your necessary functions. Finding a renewed physical belonging can help you improve your mental and emotional confidence, too.

An eight-week study of children with ADHD revealed that Yoga had beneficial effects on the participants’ sustained attention and impulse control. The children participated in two 40-minute sessions a week, as part of an after-school program, and made no other lifestyle changes. The exercise group displayed improved accuracy and response times on two cognitive tests. 

This study suggests that adding Yoga to children’s daily routines can make a difference, without the need for major lifestyle upheavals. It may seem like too simple of a fix, but the impact could be huge. With 8.4 percent of children experiencing symptoms of ADHD, a few minutes of Yoga a day may inspire calmer minds for thousands of kids.

If you’re just getting started with Yoga, try beginner poses like these ones to work your way up:

Colouring


Whether you’re an adult or an adolescent, colouring can be a surprisingly fun way to dampen turbulent emotions and carve out a moment of peace.

Art allows you to explore various mediums, such as oil paint, coloured pencils, watercolours and more. You can follow predetermined designs in a colouring book or express your creativity with a blank canvas. Using a book, however, will help you focus on staying inside the lines, which typically sharpens a person’s self-control and fine motor skills.

Mandalas are popular designs because of their complex structures, but any artistic motif will do. You can find colouring books full of animals, intricate landscapes or familiar prints like paisley and plaid. Having a creative outlet will give you space to express what’s in your mind at any given time, and working through thoughts and emotions in this way is essential for understanding yourself and your ADHD. 

Many people say writing is the perfect way to express yourself, but art may be a better option for you. It all depends on which medium you respond to best.

Art therapy, in general, is a widely accepted form of medical practice, although it’s different from colouring or painting on your own time. It requires that you work with a certified therapist who will help you explore how your creations relate to your cognitive and emotional state.

Glitter jar exercise


Star-shaped glitter in a jar

A glitter jar exercise can be a creative way to teach younger kids with ADHD how emotions function—and how they can control them in various situations. 

Fill an empty jar or container with water and add a few spoonfuls of glitter to it. Close the lid, shake the jar and watch how the glitter swirls and moves around. The glitter mimics what your emotions are like when you’re angry, worried or scared. These feelings are difficult to control and are often hard to pinpoint or identify. You may feel scattered and helpless—like you can’t control your emotional outcomes or behaviours.

The glitter settling back to the bottom is what happens when you finally calm down and feel OK again. You don’t have to wait until your body regulates itself to feel relaxed, though. You can take responsibility for your behaviour in the present and practice coping skills to help yourself manage feelings. 

Everyone’s emotions get the better of them sometimes, but you don’t have to let them rule your actions. The consequences of negative deeds are like the spread of glitter—far-reaching, messy and hard to erase.

One way to teach kids about healthy emotional regulation is by letting them practice their skills in social contexts. Watching and learning is one aspect, but doing it in real time helps a lesson stick. Praise or reward them for positive behaviour and let them know that negative acts are inappropriate. Ask them questions, such as: What actions can they take to change their emotional responses next time? How does unpleasant behaviour make others feel?

Students and adults can also benefit from creating structure through time management; more specifically, by using lists, planners and calendars. You may often over- or underestimate how much time a task requires, or you might struggle with hyperactivity or feelings of inadequacy when completing work, which can foster procrastination. Giving yourself regular breaks and recording deadlines can help you stay on track and avoid emotional burnout or outbursts.

4-7-8 breathing


Sometimes breathing is the only thing you can do when you’re overwhelmed. It requires no special tools or devices—just you, yourself and your lungs.

The 4-7-8 breathing method, developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, is one of many exercises people use for anxiety, ADHD and more. To practice it, slowly breathe in through your nose for four seconds and hold your breath for seven seconds. Then, exhale through your mouth for eight. 

The technique itself isn’t always the most crucial part when it comes to doing breathing exercises. This method is a great one to start with, but you can move on to others if it doesn’t suit you. Whether you do the 7/11 style or try resonant breathing, all of these breathing exercises serve the same purpose—calming your nervous system.

Deep breathing stimulates increased oxygen production in the body, which sends more blood flowing through your organs. You’ll be able to think more clearly when blood and oxygen are steadily flowing to your brain, which can make a difference in reducing the impulsivities of ADHD.

The vagus nerve (an essential component of your digestive system) reacts when you breathe deeply, and causes your parasympathetic nervous system to come alive.

The parasympathetic nervous system controls your heart rate and digestion, and regulates your stress levels. If you experience a bad scare, the PNS is what relieves your pounding heart and sweaty palms.

Diaphragmatic breathing—which utilizes your diaphragm—engages the PNS and helps you focus, relax and control your impulses. An eight-week study on diaphragmatic breathing in adults showed that participants displayed less stress and better attention levels.

The study’s participants also experienced a decrease in negative emotions, which shows how mindful breathing can help improve one’s emotional state. Combining this exercise with other positive activities could do a world of good for elevating your mood and level of cognition.

Body scanning


Body scanning will allow you to have a better awareness of your physical being. As you may already assume, it takes cues from Yoga, but you don’t have to strike a pose to do a body scan.

[su_pullquote align=”right”]It encourages you to pinpoint areas of tension or discomfort within your body and release the anxiety bit by bit, until your entire being relaxes.[/su_pullquote]

It’s also associated with meditation, which emphasizes the idea of letting sensations come and go without becoming hyper-focused on them. It encourages you to pinpoint areas of tension or discomfort within your body and release the anxiety bit by bit, until your entire being relaxes.

Body scanning takes some practice for people who’ve never done it, but it comes naturally after a few sessions. A guided meditation script will help majorly here, whether you attend a class or listen to a recording on YouTube.

The speaker will likely start by taking you through the beginning steps of deep breathing to calm your nervous system. Once you’re more relaxed, you’ll practice shifting your awareness to each body part—head, shoulders, arms, stomach and so on.

Some scripts will teach you how to ease this bodily tension, while others will ask you to acknowledge it and move to the next body part. Simply recognizing it can be easier for beginners, because you don’t have to worry about eliminating every small discomfort. Plus, acceptance is a core principle of mindfulness. Rather than berating yourself over any physical anxiety you experience, you can learn to see it for what it is and diminish it later.

Gardening


Male gardener holding up flowers

Teens and adults with ADHD may take delight in getting closer to nature by caring for it. A garden can teach a teen about caring for another living thing, and it can also help establish a routine. Routines promote habits, which can turn mindfulness into an everyday component of life.

These aren’t the only benefits—on its own, greenery can have significant effects on one’s productivity, focus and health.

A systematic review of adolescents interacting with nature showed that many exhibited improved mental health after experiencing natural scenes. Ten of the 35 studies featured ADD/ADHD kids, whose symptoms got better based on accessibility and direct exposure to nature.

On a related note, numerous studies have demonstrated how natural landscapes can make people feel happier, reduce their stress levels, lower their blood pressure and much more.

Forest bathing has also thrived in Japan for decades, because of its beneficial properties. If you’re unconvinced, all you need to do is catch a few rays— vitamin D is vital for numerous bodily functions.

If you don’t have the green space for a full garden, you can make a small one out of empty containers or terra cotta pots. Some cities also have community gardening spaces where you can interact with others through your shared connections with nature. 

Seeking mindfulness and contentment


Managing ADHD consists of ups and downs, but you don’t have to let the down moments keep you low forever. Taking an integrative approach to your mind and body means combining wellness systems that will allow you to live abundantly.

Whether that involves taking medication and doing Yoga, or going to therapy and gardening, there’s an ideal treatment program out there for you. Try something new and discover how it can enhance your everyday routine!

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image 1: Pexels; 2: Pixabay; 3: Pixabay

  1. Came here looking for tools to help me deal with ADHD. Haven’t yet put the breathing exercises into action, but I’m going to try. I need to find SOMETHING that works.

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