Tired by wired? ADHD and sleep problems

Meagan Cooke
May 1
3 min read

Why sleep can be inconsistent and how it affects day-to-day functioning

Sleep difficulties are common for people with ADHD. In fact, sleep difficulties can be an early warning sign that someone has ADHD, emerging in early childhood.

It’s not just a matter of bad habits around sleep, although that is still important. The biology of ADHD affects sleep, and then ongoing sleep difficulties can cause other problems, like anxiety around sleep. Learning more about these factors together, can help improve your sleep and rest.

What we mean by sleep difficulties

You might notice:

Difficulty winding down at night
Delayed sleep onset (going to bed later than intended)
Restlessness when trying to sleep, despite being tired
Frequent waking during the night
Not getting enough sleep overall
Having problems with sleep that don’t occur every night, but occur regularly

These patterns can vary based on life stress or changes in routine.

Why ADHD affects sleep

The biology of ADHD can impact sleep in a few ways:

Delays in the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that brings on the sleepy feeling
Feelings of restlessness or racing thoughts that make it harder to wind down
Difficulty establishing a routine around bed

These things can make it harder to transition into sleep, even when tired.

How ADHD affects sleep

As a result of this, people may experience:

Staying up later than planned
Getting less sleep than needed
Difficulty getting up in the morning
Feeling tired during the day

How sleep struggles can affect your day

Sleep disruption can affect your day in a number of ways, including:

Difficulty with focus and attention
Increased emotional reactivity
Challenges getting started on tasks
Mental fatigue and low energy
These changes can make ADHD-related difficulties more noticeable.

Importantly, this relationship goes both ways - ADHD can make it harder to get good sleep, and poor sleep can worsen ADHD symptoms.

A practical way to approach sleep

Sleep difficulties can be vary person to person so general advice about sleep can be hard to give effectively. But some practical tips for better sleep include:

Talk to your GP or psychiatrist about the difficulties you’re having when trying to sleep
Try using reminders and alarms to get up and fall asleep at similar times each day
Don’t go to bed straight from a stimulating activity, allow yourself time to wind down doing something that can hold your attention that doesn’t involve artificial light

Sleep and anxiety

When ADHD-related sleep difficulties have been around a long time, it’s common to start feeling anxious about sleep itself. This makes it even harder to switch off and even harder to fall asleep.

Some ideas for managing sleep anxiety include:

When going to bed, try to let sleep happen rather than forcing yourself to sleep.
If you can’t fall asleep, try resting in another room. It’s best to try to make your bed a place you use for sleep and intimacy only.
It may be helpful to see a psychologist and explore Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).