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Regarding weightlifting to provide availability to focus better than Ritalin; I have found that "time under pressure" which is essentially what we are teaching our bodies to accept when we lift, and our minds to acknowledge, is similar to wearing a weighted vest for me.

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Interesting write-up, but you are leaving out the elephant in the room: smoking.

People didn't need prescription stimulants nor an ADHD diagnosis: approximately everyone used to smoke. Certain professions were almost synonymous with black-coffee guzzling chain smokers.

Nicotine works really well against ADHD. It also has neuro-protective effects against Parkinson's disease.

Now, of course, getting your nicotine by inhaling tobacco smoke is a bad idea for youe throat and lungs, but that didn't diminish its impact on focus.

(But these days you can just use nicotine patches instead of cigarette.)

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Why is weightlifting coming before Ritalin only "slightly surprising" to you? It seems that the physiological research establishment for decades has been focused on cardio as improving cognitive function, and I think found decent evidence for that; although it is highly correlated with non-sedentary lifestyles, which may be the real cause in some cases, but again, one would expect different effects from weightlifting, except maybe in the elderly. I never noticed establishment researchers suggesting that weightlifting could be better.

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