Screen time and ADHD

One of the key recommendations we offer families around management of ADHD symptoms is 1) no screens in the bedroom and 2) negotiate a reasonable limit on screen time.

The content of screens is arousing and the blue light emitted from some tablets and smart phones delays sleep onset by interfering with melatonin production.

In a recent discussion of the link between ADHD and obesity (the risk is slightly higher for ADHD than non-ADHD samples), Dr. Russell Barkley described a "trait-by-environmental-resource intervention." Specifically, a trait disposition towards impulsive eating paired with easy availability of calories may result in this higher risk.

Think about it: if our great great grandparents wanted 300 calories, they had to plant and wait and water and weed and dig and peel and boil and mash.  Whew!  But you and I can pop into a 7-Eleven and easily snatch up 300 calories for less than a buck. To the extent that we find it difficult to resist that type of eating, you and I are at greater risk for obesity than our ancestors.

Likewise, there was little talk of video game addiction or Candy Crush obsessions in our great grandma's day. So maybe there's a "trait-by-resource" interaction between self-regulation and screens as well?

I would not want to trade places with our ancestors who lived in simpler (but more challenging) times.  But the myriad options available to you and I do present a time- and goal-management challenge, and a self-regulation challenge, that is quite different from the Good Ol' Days.

As to whether screens and video games "cause" ADHD, I remain agnostic. But what's clear is this:  to the extent that our clients are predisposed to impulsivity and poor self-regulation, they will be seduced by these dopamine tricksters.

Written by Dr. David D. Nowell, Ph.D. 
www.DrNowell.com