ADHD and caffeine: What parents need to know (2024)

FAQs

ADHD and caffeine: What parents need to know? ›

Too much caffeine can lead to an upset stomach. It can also cause serious issues like high blood pressure and heart palpitations. Kids with ADHD often struggle with self-regulation, and both the sugary taste and the “boost” they get from caffeinated drinks make it easy for them to drink far too much.

Using caffeine for concentration

But in ADHD, dopamine levels are too low. Stimulant chemicals such as caffeine or amphetamines tend to increase dopamine levels. For most people, adding stimulants will push dopamine levels too high, causing agitation and anxiety.

It is a medical condition. A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and brain activity that affect attention, the ability to sit still, and self-control. ADHD can affect a child at school, at home, and in friendships.

Women with ADHD face many of the same symptoms as their male counterparts, it's true — but they also labor under the added burden of restrictive gender roles, fluctuating hormones, and a greater tendency towards self-doubt and self-harm.

' Other people get over-stimulated with the wrong dose, and this is called 'Starbucks syndrome. ' If a patient is experiencing personality changes or feels revved up or slowed down, the dose is typically too high and needs to be decreased.

It's associated with mental health concerns

Studies show that consuming high amounts of caffeine (like those found in energy drinks) is associated with higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety in kids.

They are what I call the 5 C's of ADHD parenting: self-Control, Compassion, Collaboration, Consistency and Celebration.

Staying regulated in challenging situations: Emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and intense emotions are part of the ADHD experience, which makes “calm” elusive in many ADHD households. Managing stress is also an issue for many parents with ADHD. Setting boundaries and giving consistent consequences.

Usually, the most difficult times for persons with ADHD are their years from middle school through the first few years after high school. Those are the years when students are faced with the widest range of tasks to do and the least opportunity to escape from the tasks that they struggle with or find to be boring.

A girl with ADHD may have impulsivity and be hyper-talkative. She may be verbally impulsive, interrupt others, talk excessively, or change topics repeatedly during conversations. She might even blurt out words without thinking about their impact on others. Girls with ADHD can also be overly sensitive.

What is ADHD masking in females? ›

The ADHD Masking Effect

The “masking effect” is one of the most common reasons that women overlook ADHD. Women and girls with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder tend to internalize symptoms and hide them. This leads to an under-diagnosis and lack of recognition.

“Women with untreated ADHD can have difficulty maintaining friendships and romantic relationships, trouble finding a career path and succeeding at work and typically blame themselves for these perceived 'failures,'” says Dr. MacLean. “Getting a diagnosis can help give them back some self-esteem.”

If you yell a lot or punish them all the time, it will become normal and kids will begin to ignore it. Instead, kids with ADHD benefit from lots of structure and praise when they do things right. To help your child behave, tell them exactly what you would like them to do.

Children can have a sensitivity to certain foods — dairy, wheat, corn, soy, eggs, nuts, and citrus are common culprits — that can exacerbate symptoms. Try eliminating these foods, and watch behavior carefully.

Stimulant drugs are thought to alter the activity of key neuotransmitters, dopamine and noradrenaline, in the brain. These neurotransmitters help with attention and focus, among other things. Stimulants increase the amount of dopamine and noradrenaline in the tiny gaps between neurons, known as synapses.

Research has shown that people with ADHD tend to have low levels of dopamine in the brain. However, it is a complex condition that involves dysregulation of dopamine and another chemical, norepinephrine. Stimulant medications that treat ADHD can prevent the reuptake of dopamine, increasing brain levels of the chemical.

Adderall is a stimulant that boosts your levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These are neurotransmitters in your brain that calm and relax you so you can focus better. They also affect sleep in different ways. That may be the reason the drug causes drowsiness in some but not others.

Stimulants appear to have a calming effect on people with ADHD. They work through many different mechanisms and affect dopamine and norepinephrine, making it easier for individuals to concentrate and reduce impulsive behavior. Dopamine helps support memory, motivation, and learning.