ADHD & Sleep
An estimated 50-75% of adults with ADHD experience sleeping problems
If you are diagnosed with inattentive ADHD, you are more likely to go to bed later
Those of us with predominantly hyperactive and/or impulsive symptoms are more likely to experience insomnia
Regardless of sub-type, many people with ADHD experience daytime sleepiness and difficulty waking or getting up in the morning
Our online hub was kindly funded by the National Lottery Community Fund to support adults who have a diagnosis of ADHD and sleep issues.
The Project
We worked with many adults, who have ADHD, to help develop this project and this is what we have learned.
You told us about some of the issues that you face with sleep including:
- Early waking
- Inability to fall asleep
- Burn out
- Waking due to hunger
- Sensory issues
- Anxiety
- Hyper-focusing at bedtime
You told us how sleep issues can affect your life, these included:
- Mood is lowered
- Feel exhausted
- Anxiety increased
- Relationships suffer
- Appearance is compromised
- Safety issues around driving/operating machinery etc
- Feeling lonely and isolated
We aim to provide:
- Help at the earliest opportunity to prevent sleep problems from escalating
- Accessible evidence-based information
- Peer support through our Facebook forum
“I have a diagnosis of ADHD myself, so this is an area that I am particularly keen to address. There are many reasons why those with ADHD may have sleep issues, empowering with sleep education and information is vitally important. Our project ensures that those with lived experience are heard and their voice will be inputted into our work so that the resources we provide are as supportive as possible and feelings of isolation reduced.”
Vicki Beevers , CEO and Founder of The Sleep Charity and project lead
Resources to Support
We have worked with many adults who have ADHD to help develop our project and this is what we have learned.
Our new podcast series is where we get together with different people and experts to chat about sleep linked to various themes. The firstseries focuses on the link between ADHD and Sleep and supports our work in this area.
Need support or advice?
If you have, or think you have, ADHD and you experience sleep difficulties OR you are supporting someone who does, please feel free to join our Facebook Group here.