ADHD and Sleep

Welcome to Thrive with ADHD, a podcast where we'll share everyday practical tips to thrive in life as an adult with ADHD. This podcast is brought to you by Animo Sanoseciatry, a behavioral health practice with a specialist ADHD clinic based in North Carolina, and this is your host Nanda Pupot. Nice and warm as welcome to Thrive with ADHD, Animo Sanoseciatry's podcast where we share practical tips for patients with ADHD. I'm so excited to have you on podcast. You are doing a fantastic job with our content already, and I can't wait for people to hear more from you and about your tips for today's topic. So first of all, I would like you to introduce yourself to tell us a bit more about yourself and then we'll move on to the questions for today's topic. Yeah, thanks for having me. So my name is Madison Haley, I'm the position assistant. I started on NC Mutually in 2021, and I started off at it was a little about six months ago. I am a TAI, I have a husband and a seven month old son, Dr. Valdea. Yes, I say you are very busy privately and with a little clinic, but I know firsthand that you personally have fantastic reviews from our patients. I love you and I can't wait for the audience to hear more from you and your experience. And hopefully this is not the only time we have had on the podcast. So today's topic is ADHD and sleep, and the importance of sleep for people with ADHD. So let's kick off the first question and why sleep is important for patients with ADHD? Yeah, so I think it's important to realize that sleep disorder or sleep quality is really common in individual ADHD. Different sources say different things, but it's estimated somewhere between you, 50 to 65 or 50% of patients that have ADHD also have a full morbid sleep disorder. And while we're a lot of times treating ADHD symptoms during the day, those symptoms are so prevalent in a lot of times medication and for an opinein and restlessly for our course sleep tends to be one of those symptoms that a lot of people struggle with during those days. In adults, seven to nine hours of sleep is kind of ideal for many times and sleep is so important because it helps to both provide a physical and mental repair and rest. And a lot of times people notice that when they're not getting enough sleep, especially with ADHD, they can really exacerbate some of those symptoms. We've been general, just kind of in people with and without ADHD is really helpful in consolidating our memories, processing of information that we've learned throughout the day, helping with alertness and re-option times as for the center of Tico's helping us regulate our emotions. And it also has a lot of other benefits like deep recirits. So heart disease or high blood pressure, helping with our immune systems, regularly or read, and a lot of things as well. So sleep is very important. And what are some common sleep disturbances that you most often see with patients that have ADHD? Yeah. So one of them is just in general how do you tell people falling asleep, whether it's physical restlessness or even mental restlessness. So a lot of times people kind of describe their thoughts as being really scattered or kind of fall over the place, especially at night. And that can be common for their month of ability to kind of relax and in turn their mind off to be able to get to sleep. A lot of times we also see something that we kind of label as sleep procrastination, where individuals will kind of just put off going to sleep, whether that's because they have so much that they didn't get done during the day and they feel like they have to do those things for where they go to bed or maybe they get distracted by something and it's track time or it's track of what's in things for their bedtime, things like that. So just kind of in general putting in that time to go to sleep. We also see that maybe while they don't have to fall asleep, maybe they have trouble staying asleep. So kind of crossing and turning throughout the night or waking up to really small noises or even if it's just you can get to sleep but you're not feeling well rested after the sleep that you do have. And then a lot of times kind of going along with that kind of people tend to have this restlessness kind of up into the like around worrying and worrying. And then once they hit that point and they actually get into a good deep sleep, it's almost time to get up and then we see that a lot of times people have trouble waking up and worrying as well. While we see a lot of adults here, it's also a lot of kids with ADHD and report that they have a lot of brain cells that you get to sleep. There are other co-operative conditions that we see with ADHD and tend to be common with ADHD or also sleep apnea, fractal flex syndrome, something from periodic lymphatic disorder. Steve Crandey is also really common with ADHD as well as narcolepsy, which can also all affect sleep too. And why are these irregular sleeping patterns harmful for patients with ADHD? Yeah, so I kind of mentioned before that a sleep is really important in ADHD because without quality sleep in aid, a lot of times we see that ADHD symptoms are in the tear of person. Some of the ones that we need more noticeable or more in the person tend to be things like memory, so working memory tends to be not as good, but you're forgetting small things that people told you or you're talking about conversation and working with people. Making carelessness states, whether that's just being tired or come to this from a lack of sleep, you know, then drugs can be very not only with ADHD but for a certain time you're not going to sleep. Who changes can be a big thing to just not being able to regulate your emotions as well on that greasy, decreased productivity, slowed cognitive speed, so not being able to think things through as well or rationalize a lot of times to the lack of sleep. The fact of feeling of oversimulation can be worse as well. Along with unhealthy eating habits and maybe a completely reaction to everything. You obviously, but when you're not sleeping enough at night, you've had to get in this cycle where you're really sleepy throughout the day and maybe you're taking too many naps and then you're getting re-intoxid nights, so I can kind of throw off your circadian rhythm open as well and kind of mess up those patterns of sleep that our movies now actually have. But anyway, also see that comor-rich conditions like it needs to make either question so be worsened with the ones asleep too. Oh my goodness. So it sounds like a vicious cycle to me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And well, and here comes the question that I guess we like most on this podcast and that's what can patients can do to improve the sleeping patterns and maybe cough those cycles that are certainly not helping the situation. So there's quite a few different transcripts that people can do to try to help with better sleeping habits or sleeping patterns or improve that sleep hygiene. So one of the big ones especially now is trying to reduce that screen time before bed or after the all kind of fall victim to, I might yes, it'll right before you go to bed or lay in bed. Yeah, so I'm totally glad of those types of things. But there are a lot of studies that show that that light from our screens are pretty powerful whether it's like in the production of or release of an allotone or just kind of providing the false sense of light and daytime for a rain so that we're not in that room to sleep. I know that now there's some technology as far as settings, nerve bones or screens that we can do to try to reduce the blood light and make it more of a softer to like trying at least that hour before bed to reduce straight and this really fixing. Another thing is this having a routine and staying with it even on weekends or days that you don't have work or school and trying to have that same time and same week of time every day so that you're not in this really good pattern in the week and then on the weekend everything is just thrown out the window and you're doing whatever and then it's time to mess you up for the gloomy weekend. So really trying to stick to that same routine and whether or not it's a week day or even a vacation or not vacation. Another really big thing that I feel like a lot of people probably don't have year to go is only using your bed for either sleep or sex. So not putting in your bed and lounging and doing work or other activities or laying around in bed all day to watch TV. Like truly just using your bed for those purposes and getting out of the bed during the day time where it's the weekend and if you're going to watch TV do it on the couch and so that your brain knows that when I'm in bed it's time to sleep and it's not used. Another thing too is certain things that we would like to avoid kind of lay your hurtful stomach and those things being caffeine because we know that back in the keep us up super sugary things trying to within an hour of your bed. Also hungable and there's a big amount to come to play so you know the future of you to have a sports sleep quality as well. Other areas is trying if possible to avoid a nap during the day because if you're sleepy you might bring the day obviously that's going to affect your ability to call it a day. Exercise is really important in kind of getting out, getting sun like during the day so that your body knows hey this is daytime kind of regulating us or taking a rhythm. If you can get outside if not at least opening your curtains or your windows so that you're still getting that delay. I know some other patients have found mindfulness or meditation before bed really helpful to kind of wind down and kind of help with that restlessness or mental restlessness that a lot of patients with ADHD experience and just making sure that you're comfortable and making sure that the temperature is right that some patients find weighted blankets also for comfort. If all of that fails there are specialized therapy options for sleep so not to not sin as well as potentially if you're doing all of these healthy sleep hygiene shifts. Medication is always something to do as well. They're truly not getting sleep and you're doing all of these things to talk about. Yeah it sounds like there are like many options out there and maybe it's up to of course it helps that people talk to you know a trained specialist as you are and then fine tuning what works best for them I guess. But the most important thing is to start and work on it and just be persistent in improving the sleeping patterns because it goes a long way in improving the health in general. If there is one thing that you would like our listeners to remember any tip, any advice that you really want people to you know bring from this episode or what that would be. Yeah I mean I think generalizing for you to know that your sleep is I think a lot of people kind of play off is like yeah I didn't sleep the last night and they don't realize trying to even practice that can have on their tea and their health whether that's mental health or your physical health. So sleep truly is important and it's important to talk to somebody if you are having these struggles with sleep because unhealthy sleep patterns are something that we can help you manage and I think that improving those instantly to a lot of them is the baby people are even aware of and to that you're not alone especially you have a ADHD there's a lot of people and really the people that have disorder sleeping patterns and the kind of there is treatment options for that if that is something that you struggle with. So yeah I think that's just important to know that your sleep is important. Yes thank you so much Madison for this conversation I think we learned a lot from you today and hopefully this was helpful to people out there listening to this episode and I can't wait to have you again on the pod with some new topic thank you so much for your time. Thank you for listening to thriving with ADHD this show is produced by Animo Sanoseciatry please follow, rate or share or podcast and Spotify, Apple Podcast or any other streaming app of your choice. Music is by Daddys music from Pixabay. For more information about Animo Sanoseciatry please visit AnimoSanoseciatry.com.