thinkythink

Why is it so hard for ADD folks to get up in the morning?

Today's (and the final) sleep question:

Why is it so hard for people with ADHD (aka ADD) to get up in the morning?

 

Let me answer this from the predominantly inattentive point of view.

First things first: I forget I'm sitting - lying- in bed, and meaning to get up. Seriously. The brain is not fully awake- just the part that goes "chatter, chatter, thinky, think think" about this and that. It has not yet connected with the body and slowed down to focus on what's up, and me getting up.

Kids are about the only "external structure" that puts a dent in that in a foolproof way; they have needs, they are awake, they let it be known.

Other "external structures" including alarm clocks can be ignored, reasoned with, or snoozed. By reasoned with I mean: you can make yourself believe you don't want to get up because the reasoning is awake enough to trick you, but not enough executive function is available to kick you out of bed, remembering that you ALREADY made a decision to get somewhere/do something/just get up and start your day.

So that's why it's so hard-or one version of it. It's a slow warm-up, with a lot of (internal) distraction on the way.

 

 

 

How Can I Sleep With All That Noise In My Head?

No, I don't mean the noise telling you the little purple men are coming. I mean the mental chatter that keeps a lot of people with ADHD from falling asleep. You might feel like you're tired, but your mind is not.

Except that really, you are tired, and the brakes on your mind are really, really tired. And not working for you. And now your thoughts won't shut up. Here are some things that work for me:

• Find the right level of stimulation to calm thoughts. This means something (such as reading or a puzzle) that's interesting enough to occupy me but not compelling enough (like a book I can't put down) to wake me up more. For me this means a magazine - I read New Scientist or The Week- or short stories.
• Chill out. This tip comes partly from the last blog post; it’s about making sure you can wind down instead of getting amped up. For me this might mean, for example, no computer after dinner. No stressful conversation topics after dinner
• Tailor your own version of counting sheep. This will be a mental exercise that is hard enough to focus you but easy enough to keep your mind on. I count to several hundred and often forget I’m counting and have to start over. The process of returning to it and continuing on is calming. I might also focus on an imaginary point in front of me.
• Don’t force it. If the mental noise is keeping me up, I get up and read some more. If I’m too tired to read, but my brain is still spinning, I watch tv. “relaxing” my mind won’t work by just breathing or taking a bath at this point, because all that chatter in my head makes me more tired, and less able to get to bed.

That last point makes me think: it’s rather like your chatterbox mind is a young child overtired, who just keeps playing and can’t quiet down. In fact, just like at other times with ADHD, the mind’s director can’t step up and say “time to quiet down!” Biggest tip here?

Don’t fight against it. IF all you can do is step back and notice, that’s where to start.

 

Functioning without enough sleep

This week I'm thinking about sleep- and lack thereof. It's such a huge factor for people with ADHD, yet I see a lot of people struggle against getting the sleep they need (or struggle to find how to get it).

Today's question: How do you plan (or function) differently when you haven't been able to get enough sleep?

One of the skills and habits I work on with clients with ADHD is to check in with themselves and notice their energy level- including physical and mental energy level. When I haven't had enough sleep sometimes I notice that I can't even get through the check-in with a clear head. I might wander off in thought or forget what I was asking myself.

This blurry thinking after poor sleep is a signpost to plan a bit differently.

And to start with, lacking sleep, I won't be much good at planning itself. My ability to work on complex or long tasks will be less than normal. My working memory will probably suck. This means I might look at a to do list, and definitely look at my calendar. But I have to move it all to short term, and short steps. No longer term planning today. No strategizing. No figuring out steps in a big project. What can I do?

• keep my list of things to do very short and very clear
• only choose clearly defined tasks
• review my to do list frequently
• expect less to get done
• check my calendar. check it all day if I do have appointments, lest I forget them from hour to hour.
• do things I can do. If picking a short list of tasks isn't working, just do something and keep checking back in
• if all I can do when I check in is notice that I'm tired, keep aware of it
• plan any kind of rest in that I can
• eat well that day
• stage the following night's rest - make it a priority. For me this means: no computer after dinner. Dinner on the early side. A shower if it will help me relax, same with a bedtime snack, and off to bed early. \

Sleep deprivation handicaps cognitive functioning. Predicting that the brain isn't as high-powered as usual helps avoid a lot of self-blame for how shoddy a job you're doing that day-- and the important thing is to work with what you've got going that day, and start the next day fresh.

I've got an awful lot of experience with sleep deprivation now as a mother of two young children (who aren't great sleepers). I can do more than I thought on a poor night of sleep- as long as I know what I'm working with.