When sleep eludes you (as an ADHDer)…
Sleep. It can be such a problem for people with ADHD. Whether it is getting to sleep, staying asleep or getting good quality sleep and waking refreshed. They ALL impact our executive function. When executive functioning is allready impaired, how in the world are we going to stay organised, plan or remember things when we are running on the smell of an oily rag?
Many of the standard approaches for helping with sleep don’t work for ADHDers because they don’t account for the neurodivergent brain. They don’t account for higher levels of a stress hormone called cortisol, stimulant medications, neuroinflammation, busy brains which keep us awake at night, sensory issues ( the blanket not feeling right, being too hot, being too cold, the pillow feeling funny) as well as the many co-occurring condtions like mental health concerns, restless legs, chronic pain, PMDD, sleep apnea and sleep disordered breathing which all affect our ability to get good quality sleep.
Getting good sleep is an incredibly important part of the puzzle for people with ADHD and today I am going to not only tips to help you with sleep in the short term but also share some of the underlying factors that may be affecting your sleep.
Lifestyle (Bed time routines, mindfulness and exercise)
Bed time routines are incredibly important for triggering your body into thinking it’s time to go to sleep. This may look like turning off your screens 2 hours before bed (more on this later!), having a cup of tea (caffeine free if possible!) and reading a book. Now, back to turning off screens. This can be a very tricky one for people with ADHD. In an ideal world, we would have you turning off your screens at 9pm. If you are struggling to do this, blue light blocking glasses are a great option as well as incremently turning off your screens earlier over a period of time.
Mindfullness is another thing that is often really tricky for the busy neurodivergent brain. Yoga and meditation every day are often just not on the cards but mindefulness doesn’t just have to come in the form of yoga and meditation. Mindfullness can be going for a walk without headphones in and focussing in and being aware of the sounds around you. Mindfullness can be doing your favourite crafting activity ( I love crotchet for this!). For you it may be gardening, bieng out in nature, reading - any activity that can slow that busy brain of yours!
Moderate aerobic or resistance exercise in the morning has been shown to improve sleep quality. If you don’t have time or the ability to get out in the morning due to kids etc, you could try a workout on you tube in the comfort of your own home! There are a variety of wonderful workouts on you tube including walking workouts, zumba and other dance related workouts. This is actually a great option for the ADHD brain as you can choose something different to do everyday to keep your brain from getting bored with the exercise!
Supplements
There are many supplements that work wonders for getting you to sleep. I use these (actually most often various combinations of these for maximum effect) for clients every day. Some of these include Magnesium, L-Theanine and Glycine among others. The thing I love about using nutrients for managing sleep is when they are chosen correctly and given in the correct doses, they are multi-faceted in their benefits for the ADHD brain and not only help you get better sleep and wake more refreshed in the morning but can impact other areas such as managing cortisol levels and your nervous system helping with emotional regulation and feeling less wired, reducing inflammation ( us ADHDers have higher levels of inflammatory cytokines which really impact our ADHD symptoms and support mental health. Please, however, speak with a knowledgeable practitioner to find out what is best you. We are all individual and different things work for different people as well as the fact that just like taking something prescribed by your GP, there can be interactions with other medications. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Gut health
No chat would be a chat without a mention of gut health now would it? Like so many other aspects of our health, the gut plays a role in how well we sleep. Microbial diversity in the gut impacts sleep quality and time as well as the production of hormones that help regulate sleep like Melatonin, Dopamine and Serotonin. Hands down, the best way to improve the diversity of your gut microbiome is to eat a wide variety of vegetables. If you would like a better understanding of the gut- brain link, how it affects ADHD and what you can do to improve it, you can download my free guide here which delves into just that!
As you can see, really nailing sleep as an ADHDer can be complex as there many possible underlying factors that may be playing a role. I hope this has given you some insight into some strategies that may help you.
If you would like to delve deeper into this and receive some personal support, click here and book yourself a complimentary chat where we can discuss exactly how I can help you attain great sleep!
Chat soon.
Jules