Lots of research shows adhder has sleep difficulty issue, i.e difficult to fall to sleep, frequent awakening at deep night, feeling still tired after wakeup.
And some ADHDers have co-illnesses such as anxiety, depression, or autoimmune diseases, which altogether can contribute to insomnia.
My peer ADHDers, what are your best practices to improve sleep quality? Can u share your experiences?
Complicated, good sleep rituals have lots of elements.
Consistent wake up time. Consistent bed time. Turning down lights as evening goes on.
Dimming electronics as evening goes on. Stop any hard-core analytical thinking two hours or so before bedtime. Switch to light reading or thinking. Meditating before bed. Exercising during the day. Getting outside during the day (especially in winter).
Stopping coffee after 12 noon made a huge difference for me.
Using a 10,000 lux bright light if you're a night owl who has trouble awakening during the winter.
I will echo this but add how to:Blackout curtains if you live where daylight hours change.
I use Phillips hue lights to do a fake sunrise and sunset.
Even on weekends, have the same wakeup and bed time.
If your daylight hours change drastically, in the dark times use a SAD light for the first 20 minutes of your awake time.
Take stimulate meds 45 min before you plan to get out of bed.
Regulate when you eat, do not eat anything less than 3 hours before bed.
Drop your body temperature before bed by drinking ice water.
Sleep cool.
Plenty of exercise but not closer than 4 hours to bed time.
Write down stuff on your mind before bed.
If you wake up in the middle of the night, have something you can focus on like an audiobook you have heard a million times.
If you use screens (TV/phone/computer) before bed use night mode and turn brightness down to I almost can't see it levels.
Accept you aren't perfect and you can handle the fallout of missing executive functions.
Hope my ways help you build your ways!
I've had sleep issues even before taking meds, and I've never found anything that has helped sufficiently yet. Trazadone helps to keep me asleep longer, though that doesn't always work. My biggest problem is not falling asleep but staying asleep. If I wake up two hours after falling asleep, I'm wide awake. Eventually, exhaustion takes its toll and I am forced to rest.
Get screened for sleep disorders - a proper in lab sleep study that can find UARS as well as conventional sleep apnea. UARS is very undiagnosed, especially in younger people, and will proceed to sleep apnea if untreated. Sleep disorders don’t cause ADHD but they can cause ADHD-like symptoms and exacerbate ADHD.
For me, taking an afternoon stimulant helps me be more relaxed and get to bed/sleep easier.
In general, it is recommended to take the lowest dose of melatonin that works, but I found for me, a very high dose (20mg) works much better. Lower doses give me nightmares and don’t help and leave me groggy in the morning. The high dose doesn’t knock me out, but I seem to sleep better, longer, and feel better in the morning.
I have also found valerian helpful, but more in an on and off way, and when I feel that my poor sleep is connected to anxiety.
I’ve been using the Headspace nighttime stories. I think the voice helps my brain disconnect and let go. They help me fall asleep at night and also sometimes I will at it if I wake up during the night.
I don’t know whether ADHD makes me more sensitive to sound and light at night, or if it’s just me, but I finally found a sleep mask that’s light, comfortable and really fits my face. I also use a white noise machine or Bose sleep buds. I don’t love them but sometimes they make a real difference.
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