Will ADHD medication affect body battery and HRV?

Q: I will soon be starting a trial of ADHD medication. Do you know whether those types of central stimulating drugs will have a negative effect on body battery and HRV? In that case, there will be little motivation to follow the clock if that is the case.

Answer: I expect that these drugs will increase the heart rate and thus give a lower HRV number. Incidentally, there is a separate ADHD group in here, and you might get even better answers if you post the question there. These are drugs that trigger the sympathetic adrenaline-dominated part of the autonomic nervous system. One does not know exactly why these medicines help many people with ADHD. In any case, you must assess how well the medication has an effect on the quality of life, concentration, ability to be organized and so on. If this is obviously improved, then I would prioritize that aspect.

I really liked Kristin Leer’s book: https://www.norli.no/boker/dokumentar-og-fakta/familie-og-helse/medisin-og-sykdom/adhd-4 . She is a doctor who was diagnosed in adulthood. There may be many other ways to improve the symptoms of ADHD as well. Anti-inflammatory diet, stable blood sugar, meditation and exercise are among the measures that many benefit from.

I can quickly point to a few articles. If you search for ADHD and the various subjects, you will find many results. Here are some relevant ones:

Meditation: https://www.additudemag.com/mindfulness-meditation-for-adhd/ https:

Exercise: //www.additudemag.com/the-adhd-exercise-solution/

Diet: https://drhyman.com/blog/2015/10/21/7-strategies-adhd/

Blood sugar: https://sachscenter.com/to-better-manage-adhd-reduce-glucose-levels-to-increase-self-control/

Good luck and please keep us updated!
Regards, Dr. Torkil