is exercise more important than school?

I am not proud of myself.  Today I chose exercise (for myself) over potentially getting my child to school on time.  In my defense I did abbreviate my exercise routine and there does happen to be some version of an ice storm/rain/snow event going on during the school commute this morning in New England. Also in my defense, the child refused to take the bus this morning because he couldn't find his snowpants and that's how I ended up being school chauffeur.  Needless to say my kid was rather pissed at me.  Like many kids with anxiety and ADHD he is ironically obsessive about being on time despite his inability to be organized enough to be on time.  I myself do not have a diagnosis of ADHD but timeliness has never been my forte either and I 've come to accept this as a constant struggle.   As I obsess over whether my choice was selfish or not I got to thinking about how desperately I need that morning exercise routine to structure and feel in control of my day.    This got me to thinking about the link between physical activity and executive function.  Intuitively I have no doubt there is a strong connection.  When my son was initially diagnosed with ADHD he was simultaneously referred to occupational therapy where he was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder.  One of the first prescriptions for his "sensory diet" was daily exercise, preferably before school.  This prompted me to do a quick search of the data regarding exercise in "normal" subjects and exercise in kids with ADHD to see if it improves executive function.  Executive function is defined as the activities that organize the brain:  planning, paying attention and organizing goal directed tasks.   From a brief perusal of the scientific literature it seems the jury is out....there are several studies suggesting that bouts of exercise do improve the ability to pay attention and organize tasks, however, it is not clear if these effects are sustained over time, how much and how often to exercise and whether this is only specific to certain types of people.   That being said I have successfully written this blog post after my bout of exercise and I certainly see a difference in my child after an hour of vigorous exercise, particulary in his mood. So for this family exercise will continue to take a priority.

to read more on exercise and the brain:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-29-exercise-brains_N.htm

description of executive function on CHADD website:
http://www.help4adhd.org/faq.cfm?fid=40&varLang=en