Many people who live with ADHD do not know enough about ADHD and sleep. But ADHD and trouble sleeping often go hand in hand. Approximately 43-80% of adults with ADHD are found to have disordered sleep, according to studies by SpringerLink.
There are plenty of reasons for this-let’s learn from the insights from ADHD Therapists in Toronto:
First, most of us living with ADHD often have overactive minds and find that they just can’t settle down to sleep. We crawl into bed with our minds still spinning and, before too long, we start worrying that we won’t get enough sleep—as if we didn’t have enough to worry about already!
Second, some of us just forget to go to bed! We may have been locked into some activity, whether it’s chasing something down an internet rabbit-hole, crushing new levels of a video game, or binge-watching a favorite show on a streaming service.
Third, because those of us with ADHD are just so good at procrastinating, we often find ourselves staying up late to complete a week’s worth of work due the next day.
Fourth, if ADHD medications are taken too late in the day, since most are stimulants, they can set us on course to staying up too late even if we desperately want to go to sleep.
Fifth, some researchers suggest that people with ADHD are prone to our circadian rhythms being set for later in the day, having a “late chronotype,” meaning that we naturally stay up later and would prefer to sleep later in the morning.
Sixth, those with Adult ADHD often suffer from sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, sleepwalking, and insomnia. All of these conditions can interfere with sleeping and add sleep-anxiety to the menu.
Seventh, for those of us with Adult ADHD can find going to sleep, well, boring. We love our stimulations, but to be honest, going to sleep is far from stimulating—which makes sense, doesn’t it?
So, is it possible that people with ADHD just need less sleep? In a word, No! Although we can forgive ourselves for wanting to believe that, since getting enough sleep is a challenge.
People with ADHD and sleep problems are going to face more challenges than the non-ADHD person, including slower processing speeds, a shortage of “working memory,” increased deficits in attention regulation, and poorer response-inhibition (that is, impulsivity). And if you have any concurrent conditions, these are likely to be aggravated by lack of sleep as well.
We need better “sleep hygiene” than non-ADHD people, so we might as well accept that and put better habits into place. Working with professional ADHD Therapists in Toronto who do ADHD Coaching—especially if they are a Registered Psychotherapist—can get us on-track and moving toward a healthier lifestyle.
How to Sleep Well When You Have ADHD
Some of the things you’ll need to work on include:
Consistent Waking Time
Having a regular wake-up time is vital, because it supports your body in its natural quest for enough sleep. While there is no “magic number” of hours of sleep for people with Adult ADHD, for most people a consistent 7, 7.5, or 8.0 hours of sleep will keep you at your best. Many of us find that keeping the alarm device (e.g., clock, watch, or cell phone) across the room from where we sleep forces us to get out of bed when it goes off, increasing the chances that we will stay awake.
Consistent Bedtime
Training your body to anticipate bedtime and therefore sleep—even if it takes a few weeks to establish this—is the other “bookend” for consistent sleep-time. For those of us used to programming reminders for us during the daytime, why not program a bedtime reminder to go off thirty minutes beforehand? That gives us time to change our clothing, brush our teeth, and whatever else we associate with bedtime.
Caffeine and Alcohol Restriction
Some people can have a coffee in the afternoon and still sleep well. But, let’s face it, most of us can’t. So we shouldn’t. And when it comes to alcohol, what gets us to sleep often wakes us up in the late stages of metabolization, and interferes with our REM sleep.
Creating Tomorrow’s Task List
Taking time in the evening to create a task list for the next day helps us to empty our minds and feel reassured that we have (most) things in hand. A daily anxiety-dump can nudge us toward a restful night.
Optimal Sleep Environment
Wherever possible, make sure that your sleeping space is dark, quiet, and cool. And though we love our pets, if they are bunkmates they will interrupt our sleep.
Regulate Device Use Before Bed
Researchers are divided on whether or not device use before bedtime dysregulates sleep. If you do use your device right before you hit the pillow, it would be a good idea to make sure that the last 30 minutes doesn’t involve stimulating content such as social media, movies with car chases, or whatever else revs you up instead of winds you down.
Using whichever of these strategies that work for you, with a reasonable program of body-movement/exercise and a reasonable diet, will help you craft a life that makes the most of your unique ADHD capacities while minimizing the pitfalls.
Frequently asked questions
How do you treat ADHD sleep problems?
Follow a consistent bedtime and waking time, restrict caffeine and alcohol consumption, and improve your sleep environment.
How many hours of sleep should I get with ADHD?
People with ADHD should have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep to rejuvenate the body and mind.