Got the fidgets? It’s genetic
June 8, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Charlie could be described as a perpetual motion machine—-head nodding, fingers plucking at the hem of his shirt, legs a-swinging—–and, according to a new study by German and American reseachers, fidgeting is genetic. The June 5th BBC News reports:
The scientists found a slice of their genome they say accounts for the propensity to shuffle and shift.
The researchers say humans have the same genetic switch shown in the mouse that pre-disposes some to fidgeting.
Lead researcher Prof Mathias Treier says those who do fidget are getting valuable daily exercise even without knowing it.
“We’re spending energy by doing that – and this is of course one of the key factors in energy balance,” he says.
“Clearly people who have the more fidgeting phenotype are more protected against diet-induced obesity, for example, than people who are more calm.”
(The researchers also found that if fidgeting is in your genes, you are less likely to be overweight.)
Just because a student is fiddling with a piece of paper or tapping a foot in class does not mean he or she is misbehaving.
Sadly that is not always true. I fidget and always have, but I was often punished for it and often had to focus on not fidgeting. Maybe the decades of being taught that it was bad is one of the reasons why I’m overweight?
I’ve stopped trying to stop now. It’s been amazing how happy I am now that I’m letting go and just doing it.
When Charlie was younger, therapists and teachers put a big emphasis on him sitting completely still and straight in his chair. I still remember one therapist thinking his pulling on the bottom of his shirt an unnecessary stim—-the nuns used to make my ADHD husband run around the parking lot because he had so much extra energy. He’s definitely remained a fidgeter—–and goes out of his way to walk lots.
I suspect that the fidget gene and the twiddler gene are closely related – we have both.
Cheers
My hubby wears a path because he paces all of the time. If he can’t pace, he moves his foot back and forth on the toe (and wears out his shoe), and if he is sitting he has to have his cellphone in hand to fidget with. He is always always moving. Bubba is a lot like his daddy. Daddy was reprimanded [yelled at, threatened, hit, etc.]constantly at school and at home (he lived in a small catholic town and went to a country catholic school). We have been advocating uphill for Mr. Bubba. My mind is constantly moving, but unfortunately that’s not helping me with my weightloss!
Hee! I am the big fidgeter in our family and always have been. I love (need, actually) to pace back and forth when I am talking about something that requires a lot of thought OR when I am extremely anxious. Most of my fidgeting is smaller, though – I absentmindedly fidget with my keys, with bric-a-brac on someone’s office desk, with my hair, or I doodle, rub my face, or chew on my pen. Most of these things I do when my mind is very active, like when I’m concentrating or when I’m fretting. It never got me in trouble at school until I hit law school, though. Seems that my pen-jiggling and hair-twisting during cross-examination is distracting to law professors and faux juries…
No worries – I’m still in litigation. I’ve just learned to put my hair up and keep my hands on the podium.
Joe: I’m both fidgety and fat.
(Although maybe that explains why I have not gained a single pound of weight while eating a lot more recently on my awfully large prednisone appetite.)
Amigo likes certain “fidget tools” to help provide tension release and local coherence. He likes kitchen utensils. We recently found my good Pampered Chef spatula in his Civics folder. He laughed, we laughed, and I got my spatula back.
We have a Tigger, a frog and a runner….