Find a therapist to help with ADHD

For some people with ADHD, caffeine may actually be calming; for others, it won't be.

Both caffeine and stimulant medications influence dopamine, which is related to motivation, focus, and reward.

Consuming caffeine blocks the "sleepy signal" in your brain, which indirectly boosts dopamine.

Caffeine heightens alertness, speeds up reaction time, and increases heart rate. But for some people with ADHD, caffeine may actually be calming, according to a 2022 meta-study by Vazquez and his colleagues.

Vazquez et al examined 13 studies of animals whose genetics or behavior mimicked those of humans with ADHD. Animals in these studies were given caffeine and assigned behavioral tasks that allowed researchers to measure attention, flexibility, motor activity, learning, and memory.

Across these studies, caffeine reduced errors, improved attention, decreased impulsivity, increased behavioral regulation, and helped the animals switch between tasks more smoothly.

These results suggest that ADHD may not be an issue of too much stimulation, but rather an issue of not enough activation in the parts of the brain that are responsible for focus, planning, and self-regulation.

What do we mean by “activation”? Activation is the spark that allows you to shift from thoughts........

© Psychology Today