If caffeinated drinks like coffee are meant to give you boosts of energy then why is it recommended for kids with ADHD to calm them down?
In: Biology
The way it was explained to me in an ELI5 way is to imagine a gas gauge in your car that is measuring stimulation in your brain. Someone without ADHD has about a half of a tank of gas, and a stimulant will kick their brain into overstimulation, a full tank of gas. However, someone with ADHD, their gas gauge is closer to empty, and a stimulant will kick their brain up closer to a half a tank of gas, where someone without ADHD would normally be. It doesn’t “calm them down” so to speak, but rather but eliminates the need for extra stimulation to get to that average half a tank of gas.
The actions we see as “hyper” in someone with ADHD are actually just their brain trying to get to that half a tank of gas / baseline level of stimulation.
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