ORLANDO, Fla., March 10 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say moving around may help some kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stay alert and learn.

The study, published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, compared one dozen 8- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD to 11 who have not been diagnosed with ADHD.

The researchers found the hyperactivity found in ADHD children may be helping keep them at the level of alertness needed to complete tasks requiring working memory. The researchers suggest that severely limiting this activity could be counterproductive.

"When they are doing homework, let them fidget, stand up or chew gum," study leader Mark Rapport of the University of Central Florida said in a statement. "We've known for years that children with ADHD are more active than their peers. What we haven't known is why. They use movement to keep themselves alert. They have a hard time sitting still unless they're in a highly stimulating environment where they don't need to use much working memory."

Stimulant medications may help those with ADHD because they temporarily improve alertness and working memory, the researchers said.

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