Exercise & Energy

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I just finished a workout, so I think it's time that I tackle what is probably my second most important coping strategy after my external brain. I mentioned in my description that I am very much classic hyperactive subtype ADHD. My brain wants to be moving all the time. Small fidgets help a little bit, but only a little. Getting up and walking around the apartment periodically helps a bit more, but doesn't fix the problem.

In order to get basically anything productive done that requires sitting, I need to be getting at least an hour of real exercise in a day. It doesn't have to be high intensity, but it has to be one or two solid blocks of time when I can really get moving. If I'm struggling with work in the middle of the day, one of the most useful things I can do is go to the gym or go for a bike ride. When I come back, I'll have much more focus.

As a physiologist, I can talk about Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor, and things like that, but I really think the key here is simpler: I have more energy than is useful, and I can't focus when my brain is bubbling. In addition to the ADHD, my mood and energy just runs a lot higher than average. Using up the energy makes it easier to do things that need stillness or focus. 

Similarly, I get a lot of my most productive work done between 11pm and 2am. I am not a morning person and it takes a while for my brain to wake up. By the time it's really awake, I have too much energy to focus. In the evening, I'm starting to get tired, my energy starts to flag (especially if I've done enough movement during the day) and I can focus again, but my brain is still solidly awake. This is a good time for any focused work, but particularly for creative tasks, or things that my brain didn't want to do earlier but had time to buzz about (without the freak out that comes with impossible tasks. That is a different level.) Unfortunately, this does not work super well with having to teach morning classes. 

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