Why Sleep Doesn't Come Easy To People With ADHD (& What To Do About It)

There are all kinds of reasons people sacrifice sleep—grad school, caring for a baby, or meeting book deadlines. ADHDers, however, are more likely to regularly experience the following reasons for staying awake:

Those with ADHD tend to have a later chronotype—that is, the time we’re naturally inclined to sleep is later than usual. For those with these chronotypes, melatonin (the sleep hormone) is released later, delaying our bedtime. Dr. Stephen Becker, an expert in both ADHD and sleep who shared his insights with me, says this is especially problematic in adolescence when chronotypes are naturally later and more sleep is required.

Because we have difficulty focusing, homework, chores, and bedtime routines can take longer for us to finish. We might find ourselves staying up late to take care of things we forgot, cramming for tests at the last minute, or finishing projects the night before they’re due. Time management, motivation, and focus also pose significant challenges for those with ADHD—and our struggles in these areas often cut into our sleep.

Stimulant medications and caffeine are commonly used to treat ADHD (or self-medicate, in the case of caffeine). They can also keep us awake. However, for some with ADHD, stimulants have the opposite effect. Many doctors report some patients have an easier time making the transition to bed when they’re medicated and find it more difficult when their meds have worn off. Understimulated brains might race with a million thoughts, pick a fight with their bedmate, or bounce out of bed for one more bedtime snack.

Revenge bedtime procrastination is a phrase that describes the experience of staying awake to play video games, message friends, let our brains dive down Wikipedia rabbit holes. You know, the things we didn’t get to do while we were awake.

Research has found that inconsistent sleep schedules can make it harder to get enough sleep, and a lack of routine is associated with inconsistent sleep schedules. Since ADHD brains tend to have trouble sticking with routines, it isn’t surprising that we have trouble sleeping at the same time every night. But sometimes, our lack of routine might be due to our difficulties sleeping. After all, what’s the point of going to bed at a certain time when you know you’re just going to stare at the ceiling for three hours?

Boredom is painful for ADHD brains, and sleep can be boring, especially if we need to transition from doing something fun to a tedious bedtime routine. When we finally make it to bed, we often deal with the distress that boredom causes by distracting ourselves with activities that don’t support a good night’s sleep. (What’s up, blue light?

While there are effective treatments available for every single sleep disorder associated with ADHD, there are many practices that you can do for yourself or your loved ones right now.

According to experts, you should aim to sleep long enough to fulfill your intrinsic sleep needs. In other words, we should be aiming for enough sleep so that we feel refreshed and alert, not dull and sleepy.

Still, there are a few research-backed sleep hygiene strategies worth trying for most of us.

Here are some strategies you might consider to make bedtime a better time:

Excerpted from HOW TO ADHD copyright © 2024 by Jessica McCabe. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.