How to Permanently Improve Executive Function - Part 2
On days when executive function is running low it’s so hard to get ourselves to do the things that we need, or the things that we want to do. What if there was a way to make the amount of executive function we have every day even higher?
Firstly, this blog today is based on a YouTube video I put out. If you would prefer to watch instead of read, you can find the video here:
Last week we started the discussion on executive function by looking at the book “Cognitive and Working Memory Training” and particularly the chapter “Review of the Evidence on and Fundamental Questions About, Efforts to Improve Executive Functions, Including Working Memory” and I need my working memory improved to remember that title.
This chapter is huge because it looks at 179 studies from around the world to review the existing literature out there on executive function and the activities and interventions that have the potential to increase it.
They start from the principle that executive function can be improved, regardless of how old you are but there are a number of aspects that go into whether a particular intervention results in executive function improvement. I laid out their nine principles important to executive function last week before going into the four interventions that were actually least effective at improving executive function.
Those four worst interventions were very surprising because they all involved some form of exercise, something that has been known to be a very beneficial natural way to treat ADHD. Now there are reasons as to why these interventions are less effective and without spoiling the video any further, you should give it a read if you haven’t already because it’s really interesting, and will give you a bit of a build up of suspense for this week’s post.
A huge surprise for me in this list was resistance training being very neutral and not really having an executive function benefit.
Because in this post, we’re going to talk about the best interventions for improving executive function, and what actually goes into making a particular activity beneficial when it comes to improving executive function in general. So without further ado, let’s get into the best four interventions for improving executive function.
Coming in in fourth place is a tool called Cogmed, a computerised training tool that trains specific executive function skills. This was found to have a good benefit in the things it directly trained for although generalising those skills was limited. It also acknowledged that the results were often measured using tests similar to the activities Cogmed specifically trained in but nonetheless Cogmed produced the best results of all computerised cognitive trainings.
In third place was non-computerised cognitive training, so direct executive function training but instructor led, allowing participants to build up relationships with their instructors and have a bit of a social aspect.
However both these two were dwarfed by the top two on the list, these were:
Promising school programs, these are programs implemented in schools that worked on improving relevant behaviours and I’m not going to lie to you here, I skipped reading this section. I work exclusively with adults and I don’t have kids myself but there is a huge section on these school programs in the chapter and I’ll link it below in case you want to read it.
And coming in even higher at the top, with all eight papers analysed on these forms of intervention showing improvement in executive function, is mindfulness practises involving movement, in this case meaning Chinese mind-body practises, Taekwondo, Tai Chi and Quadrato Motor Training.
Now when I read this for the first time I actually got a bit emotional because while I do struggle with executive function, I’m definitely on the better end of ADHD with my executive function challenges and sometimes that’s given me a bit of impostor syndrome about my ADHD. But this helped me recontextualise this because from the ages of 8 to 22, do you know what sport I was obsessed with and training for hours each week? It was Taekwondo
Here’s little 8 year old Leigh in her Taekwondo uniform. Love at first class.
Throughout my childhood, teen years and early adulthood I was training myself to be better at executive function without even knowing I was doing it. That makes me emotional because my life could have turned out very differently if I hadn’t stumbled across and fallen in love with the sport that defined much of my youth.
Now I do have to say here that it was found to be important how Taekwondo was practised, with the mindfulness aspects of the sport being important for executive function benefits and treating Taekwondo as just a sport without the philosophy it came with was found to be far less effective, and I’m glad I grew up doing it as the full martial art, rather than just the sport.
And actually they talk about this possibly being why yoga has such mixed results. Much of modern day yoga practise is divorced from the philosophy and spirituality it initially came with and I know I definitely am on the wrong side of this as I treat it just as stretching for my body rather than being beneficial for my mind, but they suggest that yoga in its original context could be as useful as the other mindful movement activities.
Speaking of which, the list of mindful movements contained two things that I didn’t know: Chinese Mind-Body practises which involve:
“not trying to calm your thoughts but instead fostering self awareness and building mental self control to gain a calm and relaxed state while reducing stress, increasing flexibility and improving blood circulation,”
and then Quadrato Motor Training which I’d not heard of at all.
So Quadrato had excellent results in just seven minutes of practise so I’m going to delve into this further and maybe follow up with a video on it, but it’s basically a mindfulness movement where you start in a corner of a half metre squared box and move to the other corners of the square according to recorded verbal instructions, eg go to corner two, corner three etc, while looking straight ahead.
As I said, I’ve never come across this before but if it only costs 7 minutes a day and has big benefits I’m seriously considering investing time into trying this!
And this kind of leads into one point the chapter makes which I felt validated in reading as it matches my own approach to executive function, and that is that minimising executive function demand in life is much more useful than executive function training.
Ie this is saying that if you can implement tools, strategies and general day to day life in a way such that the executive function cost is lower, then you’re more likely to be able to get things done and do well. And it makes sense, it’s better to need to spend less executive function than to have to work to muster more executive function to get things done.
A few months ago I did a post on exactly this, called “Motivation is Overrated”. I also went semi-viral on tiktok with a clip from this video as well so I’d recommend checking it out and looking at implementing parts of it into your own life.
But when we look at this topic as a whole, I don’t want you to take away from this video that you should go and sign up to your nearest Taekwondo class or spend hours doing Quadrato training, and that’s not the takeaway that the chapter wants to leave you with as well. Because it goes beyond just trying to find the best executive function training method, and instead looks at what goes into making a particular activity beneficial for executive function. Here are the conclusions:
1) The activity should continually challenge a variety of executive functions in new and different ways. So it might be a sequence of dance moves challenging your working memory, while holding your body in the positions to pull them off and following the beat may challenge your self-control. As long as it continually challenges your executive functions in different ways you are likely to see an executive function benefit.
2) The activities are personally meaningful and relevant and inspire a deep commitment and emotional investment between the participant and the activity and even towards other people such as the instructor or other participants. Part of the reason why Taekwondo was so successful for me is because I loved it. I never had to convince myself to go to training, I wanted to be there. It became a big part of my social life and I still keep in touch with many friends from my Taekwondo days.
I think it’s time for a bit of cheesiness in this post!
While I no longer do it (and in fact have dabbled in many other martial arts since) and it was certain features of the old-fashioned philosophy that eventually led to me moving on, I can still appreciate its place in my life and how much I adored it for the years I was practising it.
And while you might not be as obsessed with your executive function activity as I was with Taekwondo, if you enjoy it and find a sense of emotional investment with it and its community, then you are likely to see an executive function benefit here as well.
3) The third point is that it should have a mentor or a guide who firmly believes in the efficacy of the activity and is supportive of you and your development on a personal level and within the activity. I’m sure we can all look back on those people in our lives who have made a difference like this and I’m sure many of us have experienced an executive function benefit from these important people.
And finally they will provide joy, reduce feelings of stress and loneliness and inspire self-confidence and pride. I think this one explains itself pretty well.
Importantly, the chapter concludes by saying that there are many activities that haven’t been studied very much, if at all, that could fit this criteria such as group musical activities, communal dance forms, social service activities, scouts and caring for an animal, and cite relevant sources for all of these.
I’d love to volunteer testing out some of these training methods, starting with one in particular!!
So when it comes back to the question of how do we train our executive functions to improve our executive function in general, I think I’m confident in knowing the answer now and it’s two fold:
Firstly, try and minimise executive function cost as much as possible so that you don’t have to spend executive function. And then secondly, find a hobby that you enjoy that has a positive impact on you and your life, people to build great relationships with and one that will build satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. And what does an ADHDer love more than being encouraged to pick up yet another new hobby!
If this resonates with you and feel you would be interested in talking to an adhd and autism-friendly coach, feel free to get in touch. If you’re looking for more blog posts, you can find them here.
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