White Noise for ADHD Sufferers
Friday October 1 2010
Children who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (otherwise known as ADHD) may not need the powerful prescription Canada drugs they are usually given, according to a startling new study from Scandinavia. The study suggests that a Canadian drug free treatment of just exposing them to “white noise” can be just as effective in helping them concentrate and learn as keeping them doped up on Canada drugs.
Dr. Goran Soderlund of Sweden’s Stockholm University believes that ADHD sufferers may lack a chemical messenger in the brain known as dopamine, and that random white noise may boost neural activity, enabling their ability to concentrate. “You see people with ADHD often have difficulty sitting still,” Soderlund notes. “They are tapping their fingers or moving their feet. I think that activity translates into a kind of neural noise in the brain – and it’s their way of increasing their arousal and attention.”
Writing in the “Behavioral and Brain Functions” medical journal, the researchers of the study note that it could be of benefit, particularly for children whose parents are wary of having them be on Canadian drugs at such a young age. The only problem is the level of the white noise involved, which was blasted at 78 decibels – “a really, really harsh sound”, Soderlund admits, who notes that the noise actually distracts students who do not suffer from ADHD. Suderlund is experimenting with different sound levels, but points out that special headphones could be another drug free option to help ADHD children.
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