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Ask the ADD Medical Expert:
Larry Silver, M.D.
Does Coffee Improve Focus?
Q:
"My friend lets her 10-year-old drink coffee every day before school. She says the caffeine helps him focus. Is this true?"
A:
Caffeine is a stimulant, and people have long wondered whether it could be used to treat ADHD.
But two major studies have shown that caffeine is not an effective treatment. While some of the children in these studies did report less “sluggishness,” caffeine can cause agitation and an increase in heart rate in young children — even more of a concern for kids already taking a stimulant medication. Thus, any benefits your friend’s son receives are probably outweighed by health risks.
If you’re wondering how to share your concern with your friend, you might say, “I was so excited by your discovery that I wrote to ADDitude. But Dr. Silver replied, saying that no studies support ‘treating’ ADHD with caffeine. I thought you should know...”
 2 Comments:
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Posted by
shebutler
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Nov 18 2009 @ 2:20 PM
Caffeine and ADHD
I am one of those parents that is for caffeine. My parents are guarded (at best) when I tell them we are coming home for a visit. They still suffer the memories of events of my son's 'busy-ness' from several years back. I packed my son's medicine in the checked baggage - you guessed it - we ended up with misplaced luggage for over 24 hours. My parents were in a complete state of panic all evening. After all the discussions of why his medication can't be refilled by calling the pharmacy, or the emergency home phone call to the doctor could not happen, my son woke up. I wish I had a camera for the look they had on their faces.
After I explained to my son that his medicine was misplaced with the luggage, he asked for a cup of coffee; which we gave him. He normally will only have Mountain Dew/Mellow Yellow/Coke products if his medicine wears off quicker than I can stand in the evenings. But my son is aware coffee can slow things down for a short time (around an hour for my 9 year old). Kids generally don't like the taste of coffee and don't drink much anyway.
Caffeine like everything else in moderate doses really can't be that bad. So while the response says that caffeine is not an effective treatment, I agree it's not a form of treatment, but I believe the issue was more geared towards small doses in the morning to bring down the morning drama especially before the medicine has a chance to kick in. I would rather my son take a half cup of coffee over a frosted poptart. Even the bus driver totally appreciates his few sips of coffee in the morning.
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Posted by
John's mom
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Nov 12 2009 @ 2:57 PM
Caffeine
We have recently discovered that my 5 year old son has ADHD. I have been giving him about 1/4 cup of made coffee each morning for about a month now. His teacher reports that he is definitely less agitated and that his behavior is not as extreme. We have always watched his diet closely, but caffeine does actually seem to help. I checked with his pediatrician and she has told us that an amount that small should not cause him any health problems, even if he drinks it every day. I wish there were more studies done regarding small amounts of caffeine because I do know other partents who use it as a tool, without resorting to medicine. I have one friend who gives her pre-teenage son a diet (sugar-free) Mountain Dew just before he sits down to do his homework and she swears by the results. I'm not trying to be contradictory, but I believe that more research should be done before we count caffeine out as a helpful tool and possible alternative to medicing. Many parents are skeptical of meds, and a bit of caffeine just might help!
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