For people with ADHD, everyday office life often presents a particular challenge: especially in open-plan offices, the many noises and visual impressions can quickly lead to sensory overload. Furthermore, the pronounced urge to move in people with ADHD is severely restricted by prolonged and static sitting at a desk, which in turn can negatively affect their ability to concentrate.
Movement can be the key here. Not as a distraction, but as support to calm inner and physical restlessness and to work with greater focus.
Meaning and symptoms of ADHD
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a neurobiological disorder that can manifest itself symptomatically through poor concentration and attention, impulsivity, as well as physical restlessness and hyperactivity.
ADHD typically manifests in three areas:
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Inattention:
People with ADHD are often more easily distracted and lose focus more quickly. Organization and time management are often more difficult for them than for people without ADHD. -
Hyperactivity:
In ADHD, the urge to move is often very pronounced. Especially during activities that require prolonged, still sitting, those affected often experience a distressing inner restlessness. -
Impulsiveness:
Another symptom of ADHD is impulsivity, which can manifest itself through hasty actions or responses, interruptions, lack of patience, and sometimes strong emotional reactions.
In addition, many affected individuals also experience a pronounced susceptibility to stress, sleep problems, or so-called hyperfocus phases.
💡 What are hyperfocus phases?
Hyperfocus phases are states of very intense concentration in which one is completely absorbed in a task and barely perceives external stimuli or time. They occur frequently in people with ADHD because attention is less evenly regulated. Tasks that are highly interesting or immediately motivating activate the reward system particularly strongly. Concentration then remains exceptionally focused and stable for an extended period.
Hyperfocus is thus the flip side of the otherwise very pronounced distractibility in ADHD. In everyday work life, hyperfocus can be seen as both an opportunity and a challenge: It enables exceptional productivity and creative achievements, but can also lead to forgetting breaks, overlooking priorities, or neglecting other tasks.
In ADHD, the ability to pay attention is therefore not "broken", but only regulated somewhat differently than in most people:
- Difficult to control through willpower
- strongly dependent on interest, movement and emotional relevance
- very reactive to stimuli from the environment
Therefore, components such as movement, structure, clear stimuli and ergonomic working environments help with ADHD because they support and stabilize precisely these brain networks.
Why office structures are particularly challenging for people with ADHD
For many adults with ADHD, the daily grind at the office is a struggle that demands far more than just concentration. The typical symptoms of ADHD are particularly evident in the workplace:
Sounds such as colleagues' conversations, the clicking of a keyboard, or the scraping of an office chair are often perceived unfiltered and can cause immediate interruptions in the thought process. This heightened sensitivity to stimuli means that those affected are repeatedly pulled out of focus in an environment full of visual and auditory stimuli, which significantly hinders concentrated work.
Without movement-friendly office furniture, inner restlessness and sensory overload are exacerbated in people with ADHD – concentration becomes more difficult, and exhaustion and stress increase.
These existing challenges are often unintentionally exacerbated by conventional office environments. Classic office chairs force the body into a rigid posture that inhibits the natural urge to move and further promotes inner restlessness and concentration problems.
💡 According to the information portal of the University of Cologne, approximately 4.7% of adults in Germany live with ADHD , which corresponds to around four million people. A significant proportion of the working population therefore struggles daily with working conditions that do not match their neurological profile and that hinder rather than enhance their performance.
How exercise makes everyday life easier for people with ADHD
Movement can be beneficial for people with ADHD, as it promotes concentration, inner calm, and self-regulation. Small movements, so-called micro-movements, are often enough to help those with ADHD calm down.
The following is a summary of the key advantages:
1. Emotional well-being and stress reduction
Exercise has been shown to increase the release of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine—neurotransmitters that are typically present in reduced amounts in individuals with ADHD. These neurotransmitters are crucial for motivation, mood, and attention. Activating the dopaminergic system therefore leads to less stress, less overstimulation, and less frustration. ADHD is often accompanied by emotional dysregulation, and physical activity can help restore balance.
2. More concentration
Even short bursts of exercise stimulate circulation and blood flow, supplying the brain with more oxygen. This makes us feel more alert and energetic, and makes it easier to concentrate on demanding tasks for extended periods.
💡 💡Learn more here about the influence of exercise on our ability to concentrate.
3. Reduction of hyperactivity and inner restlessness
The ability to make gentle micro-movements reduces the internal pressure to "have to move." The body gets what it needs, and the mind is free for the actual task. This is a state that many people with ADHD can hardly achieve in a traditional office chair.
4. Improved body awareness and better self-regulation
Motion-sensitive furniture like the Aeris Swopper continuously activates the proprioceptive system – that is, the body's ability to perceive its own position in space.
Ergonomic office chairs help people with ADHD to satisfy their urge to move and thus remain focused and concentrated at work.
This sensory feedback is particularly important for people with ADHD:
- It strengthens inner orientation
- It has a regulating effect on attention and emotions.
- It improves coordination and body control.
Many sufferers report that this makes them feel "more in their own body" and less overwhelmed by their environment.
Positive reviews: What Lisa Vogel, who has ADHD, says
Content creator, SPIEGEL bestselling author and podcaster Lisa Vogel confirms the positive effect from her own experience:
"The Aeris Swopper is the perfect chair for me to work in. With ADHD, I often need movement to be able to concentrate while working, and the Swopper supports movement instead of restricting it."
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