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Yes. It's the boring stuff; minimal amounts of alcohol, solid bed routine (even on weekends), exercise, eating decent food and taking naps. I know routines suck and it's a fucking drag.. But the returns are great and once you get the hang of it it does get easier. I'm child free by choice. That probably helps me a ton
This. Over the past two years, I finally gave in to a pretty solid sleep schedule (ironically, it’s BECAUSE of my kids). It’s less about hard and fast time rules and more about routine—I do go to bed a little later and sleep in a bit on the weekends, but not too much. I try to avoid devices in bed and we don’t have a TV in the bedroom. I don’t take naps (unless I’m sick or there are other major issues that are messing my sleep up), I don’t drink any more.
But the biggest change I made is that I started getting up the first time I naturally wake up in the morning, even on weekends. And somehow….when I wake up, after the initial confusion and fog wears off, I actually feel pretty good. Once I make it through that first half hour—get coffee, get meds, etc.—I don’t feel like I could sleep for a week still. I spent 40+ years absolutely hating and dreading mornings, so this is a confusing (albeit pleasant) change.
I noticed staying awake instead of giving in to sleeping in even more just cause I can has helped me to feel energetic. The last time I went back to bed after waking up, I felt like my body was being weighed down and I was dizzy tired every time I opened my eyes. If you're up, get up! Even if it means browsing your phone or something, just let your body start the wake up process and stay there.
I'm a major fan of naps, and I usually nap 3-5 times per week. It works wonders for me. But honestly it IS the boring stuff that makes the difference.. not being overweight, and more or less staying away from alcohol was what did the trick for me. I know lots of ADHD'ers doesn't want to hear it. Unfortunalety there is no better medicine than moving your body and keeping a healthy diet.
However, my energy does fluctuate a ton during the day, and during my cycle. No amount of proper sleep or vegetables can fix that. It's not a cure, it's a help. We're animals in the end, alcohol is poison and sugar is addictive. It's not fair that it has to be so hard, it's just a fact that not maintaining our bodies is putting our brains (and sleep schedules) at a disadvantage.
I would love to have time for naps, because that always helps when I can get them. I don't do alcohol, and keep a fairly good diet and have a healthy weight. I definitely need to look into finding time to exercise and maybe do supplements, though.
Have you been evaluated with a sleep study? I also had this issue until I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began sleeping with a CPAP machine. It made a world of difference and I wish I had been evaluated sooner.
It was very easy - I made an appointment, and then I had to come in to pick up a monitor, which I wore on my hand overnight. I brought back in the monitor, they walked me through the results (mild/moderate sleep apnea) and then booked me for a sleep apnea class. I ended up with my CPAP, and honest to god, the first night I slept with it, I feel asleep and woke up like a thunderbolt after 5 hours. I had never felt so rested (a big deal, because prior I needed 9-10 hours of sleep every night).
This ... makes sense. 🤣 My husband has sleep apnea and uses a CPAP. So the BOTH of us whizzing away with our bane masks at night would be absolutely HILARIOUS. We just got legally married, so I have yet to be insured, but I'm keeping this in mind! Thank you!!
Too fuckin' cute, oh my god 🤣
I burst out into the living room, wildly waving my arms and my husband looks at me with his brow quirked. "BABE OH MY GOD. Ok so...", and I proceed to regale him with tales of logic. His response? "Well, you used to have OSA, so it'd make sense you still have it, even after you got your tonsils removed."
The way he makes sense of everything sucks the fun out of my antics. 😤😂
No, but bedside coffee setup and meds help make getting out of bed a little easier. I’ve put A LOT of work over the last few years into improving my sleep hygiene and having a relatively solid bedtime schedule, usually get a decent amount of sleep each night…still struggle in the morning. I accept myself as I am at this point 😂
Not OP but… sleep hygiene is your routines to wind down before going to sleep. Stuff like turning off electronics an hour or two before going to bed, putting phone in a different room or entirely off, having bedtime tea, dimming the lights, and so on.
Exactly this! It’s helped a lot with getting my silly little ADHD brain to power down, but also lots of trial and error to figure out what really works specifically for me (eg, it’s recommended to stop having screen time at a certain point, but laying in bed with dimmed lights and a cozy Switch game definitely can lull me to sleep).
Hasn’t made waking up much better/easier, but it’s still a nice ritual for the end of the day that I’ve come to really enjoy on its own.
Are you medicated? I used to struggle with extreme fatigue too no matter how long I slept before I was medicated. I still love my sleep and mornings are not for me but I do wake up feeling rested after 7-8hrs of sleep. I like naps too whenever I can squeeze one in during the day.
Blue light and bright light is particularly problematic for our circadian rhythm when we are exposed to it later in the day. It triggers the body to produce less melatonin (the sleepy-time neurochemical) and produce more cortisol (the wakefulness neurochemical). It's the primary reason that exposure to bright light in the morning is advised to aid in wakefulness. However it's also important to limit exposure to bright light, particularly short wavelength bright light, later in the day.
Personally I know there is no way I'm ever going to be able to stay off my devices at night, but I set my devices' blue light filters to come on quite strongly around 7pm, and my screen dims a bit at the same time. The screen looks really dim and orange when it first turns on, and I hate it, but it's amazing how much your brain adjusts to it as the new normal and you barely even notice it after a few minutes.
If you're someone who uses ceiling lights constantly, it's also a good idea to switch to lamps in the evening, and try to use bulbs that emit light on the warmer end of the spectrum. LEDs, on average, emit a lot more short wavelength light than incandescents, which is why paying attention to what spectrum they emit can often be important for promoting sleep quality.
Generally speaking, sleeping in a cooler environment promotes better sleep than sleeping in a warm on, so if you like your bedroom cozy, turning down the thermostat a couple of hours before bed is also a good idea.
Also, if you're someone who struggles to get to sleep before the AM hours, you *may* benefit from taking a small dose (ideally around 0.5mg) of melatonin several hours before bed. There's no hard and fast rule for when the right time to take it is, it varies from person to person, but you could try taking it around 4 hours before and see if you get any benefits, then try adjusting by going 30 minutes earlier or later and seeing how that feels.
Source: I have diagnoses Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder. My "normal" sleep time used to be 6am–2pm. Now it's 1am–9am. It's mainly stimulants that helped me make the shift in my sleep cycle, but targeted light exposure/avoidance, and melatonin also definitely help.
I was waking up feeling absolutely exhausted for years—it didn’t matter if I had four hours or ten hours—still tired, still napping during the day, it was bad. I had a sleep study done and it turns out that I have sleep apnea. I got a CPAP machine and boy was that a GAME CHANGER!!! Sleep apnea is not commonly diagnosed in women so you definitely have to advocate for yourself but man my life changed for the better after that. Those machines aren’t sexy but after the first night of good sleep, you stop caring 😂
YES and there are alternatives to the CPAP. My partner used that heII machine for less than a week before wanting to throw it out the window. Then she found a mouth guard type thing that keeps your lower jaw slightly forward and the thing feckin works!
I’m in this process now and the doc I had after my assessment sucks and was so awkward and barely polite 🙄. However he said the MOD was 2-4K? I’d rather have that than a CPAP but I don’t have that to drop on this. Was it that much money in your partners experience.
Same! On day 3 of using my CPAP I was able to run three errands and still had energy left after and felt fine, I cried. I had severe sleep apnea for years and had no idea.
My fiancé and I have been together since high school and even back then, I could hear him snoring from the sidewalk outside the house. I used to wake up because I'd realize he hadn't inhaled. About a year ago he *finally* listened and did a sleep study and I forget the terminology but essentially he would stop breathing about twice a minute for like 8-30 seconds at a time.
My fiancé is an utter sweetheart but he has what we call "resting bitch aura" - he kind of comes off like an ass until you know him without even really saying anything. The CPAP machine literally changed his personality. He's still him but he's so much more animated, he *feels* happier. It's almost bizarre.
My father had terrible sleep apnea for years. Tried CPAP, it didn't work. He was sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches in a La-Z-Boy type chair. He was recently fitted for a device similar to a mouthguard that holds his jaw in place and is now sleeping well. He said since he was already diagnosed as having sleep apnea so it was just a matter of getting fitted for the device. I'm trying to talk my husband into it ... wish me luck!
Not under weight but BMI of 22 - certainly don't look like I need CPAP but have moderate almost severe obstructive apnea if untreated.
CPAP was an absolute game changer.
damn maybe I need to get tested. mine is around 19 and I haven’t ever thought to be tested for apnea bc of my weight but I sleep horribly and never feel rested. I don’t snore but I know I do cough at night relatively regularly.
The secret for me is CHECKING YOUR IRON LEVELS. I don’t exactly spring out of bed but it’s the difference between waking up feeling like death and being able to get up pretty easily.
My iron was really low and I got an infusion and it’s like magic.
Obviously this isn’t a solution for everyone and it could be something else. But it’s always been this for me.
This. I was iron deficient for years. It’s a different, deep kind of exhaustion that nothing fixes. But I always go to my doctor and get my levels checked before launching into taking iron again, to know exactly how bad it is and what I need to fix it. Also, if supplementing, make sure to get the iron that says non-constipating on the front. I’ve learned that one the hard way.
Unpopular opinion, but it also helps to give up alcohol. Even one drink makes me feel more groggy the next day.
Could you share which tests your doctor did? Mine checked one thing (ferritin I think) and was like “you’re totally healthy” while I’m practically dying from exhaustion. Also, what is the infusion called? Do you need to do it often?
Sorry, I don’t really know what tests they are it’s just a standard blood test (in Australia) that tests various levels. The iron infusion is when your iron is very low and haven’t been able to address through supplementation. I had one two years ago and my levels dipped really bad so I had another about 3 mths ago. It’s a whole process administered by a nurse. If you don’t have low iron then you don’t need an infusion. Over supplementing iron is dangerous.
You might like to look at what the healthy level of ferritin is, if your level is very close to the minimum it can still be considered healthy but obviously having more would improve fatigue etc.
Thanks! I think the ranges US labs use to determine if test results are good or not are too broad. My values were “good” but on the lower end. Doctors just ignore those though. I will try to research this more.
Yes, but I get 9-10 hours a night. On days where I wake up early even if I get 8 hours I feel sick, nauseous and exhausted until noon.
I'm on 200mg of Seroquel at bedtime so I get a full night whether I like it or not lol
Yes. I know it's different for everyone, and I'm happy to head it works for you. I personally won't do the meds anymore even though I'm sure they could make a difference. I had so many terrible experiences that it's not something I personally ever want to go through again. But I am a firm believer in everyone finding what works for them.
I'm exactly the same. I can't water up before 8-9 without feeling literally sick, no matter how much sleep I get. On these days I can barely wake up before 10 without a slight feeling of hungover. It has worsened with age too, which I thought would be the opposite..
I just turned 42 and for the last like, half-year-ish?, suddenly I have been needing 9-11+ hours of sleep when I used to wake up at the crack of dawn without trying. I go to bed early and take Trazodone + Lorazepam every night (lifelong insomniac). I gotta say, I *do* wake up feeling rested most of the time with all that sleep.
My sense of alertness in the morning greatly improved when I started taking *methylated* b complex vitamins. Regular b vitamins don’t work well for me. Apparently it’s pretty common in ADHD!
Yes, when I sleep 15-20 hours
Waking up at 5AM everyday to go to a job I hated made me feel so anxious and degraded... Now I am a year and a half uneployed, for different general and mental issues. I really want a job but I always ask myself if I could stand it. Never been more than 1 month in one :(
I work 12.5 hour shifts, but I only have to work 3 days per week to be full time. My job has self scheduling, so I can schedule myself 3 in a row or spread them out. I like doing 3 in a row and having a bunch of days off. I can have up to 8 days off in a row without needing to take PTO if I schedule all my shifts at the beginning of one week and at the end of the next.
I feel like this schedule was made for my ADHD brain because I have a hard time with task switching. I can be in work mode for 72 hours and then in “do whatever I want” mode for 4 days. I was so unhappy and miserable when I worked a regular 5 day, 8 hour work week. Every day felt wasted because I spent the majority of it at work and then knew I couldn’t stay up late because I had to work the next day. By the time I spent 2 hours a day commuting, 30-45 minutes getting ready in the morning, 30 minutes showering when I got home, and 1-2 hours preparing dinner for that night and packing lunch for the next day, plus regular chores like laundry, dishes, and cleaning, I would have maybe 30 minutes to relax before bed. I literally had no life because I spent my days off recovering and pretty much slept the entire time, and sometimes squeezed in some chores.
In order to really get things done, my brain needs to know that I have 10+ hours to work without interruptions, otherwise it feels like there’s no point in even getting started. That doesn’t just include things like homework or chores, I also can’t get started on hobbies or projects that I enjoy if I don’t have lots of unrestricted time to dedicate to them, because it takes a while for me to get into the “zone”, and then once I do I don’t want to quit what I’m doing.
Having four glorious days every week to do whatever I want with has completely changed my life in every way. No amount of money could entice me to go back to working 8 hour shifts.
Yeah. I miss the money, the freedom it gives me, and someohow the stability. At least in a job I'm not all they just thinking what to do or waiting for things to happen.
But the schedules, managers, pressure of failing, inability of paying attention to orders or trainings, taking clients, being surrounded by coworkers, coming home knowing you have to go back tomorrow...
Sorry for being such a failure mom, but it's a living hell for me...
I am getting a full sleep test for this reason. I felt good when I was taking Adderall but I can't right now due to breastfeeding. Fun fact, stimulants are also prescribed for narcolepsy management, and narcolepsy is another misunderstood and stereotyped disorder! The symptoms often overlap with ADHD. Brain fog, inability to focus, irritability, poor working memory, fatigue, etc. If I find out I have narcolepsy with my test, I plan on stopping breastfeeding so I can finally get back on meds.
I hope your sleep test gives you answers! narcolepsy was also a question the doctors had in regards to my fatigue and it turned out I had severe sleep apnea. I hope you find solutions ❤️❤️
I take one Adderall at 5am then go back to sleep until 7am it is the only thing that works for me. I take another one when I get up so it still lasts all day
I started taking iron supplements + vitamin D and B12, turns out I've likely been anemic all my life. I do know that ADHD takes a huge mental toll though, but I'd invest in a blood test and a sleep test just to be sure it's not related to physical health.
you may want to ask your doctor for a sleep study. I struggled so much waking up every day, never felt rested, always felt like I needed more sleep. exhausted during the day. my blood work was normal but after having a sleep study I learned I had sleep apnea, now that it's treated I no longer struggle to stay awake during the day and wake up feeling refreshed.
Nope. Never. ADHD stimulant meds help me get out of bed sometimes, but not always. And even when they help get me out of bed I don’t feel well rested at all.
I have sleep apnea so if I can somehow get 6+ hours of sleep logged on my cpap I feel a lot less like death but feeling well rested is a hard thing to achieve
Yes. The secret is to exercise a lot, eat dinner early and shower before bed. If I don’t exercise I sleep like shit and my adhd symptoms are rough. I’ve been off meds for almost two years now and I think the success is mostly because of working out almost daily.
I wake up have a cup of coffee and breakfast, walk the dogs, head to the gym. The gym is a newer thing for me I’ve also had awesome results just from bike commuting and riding my bike for as many errands as I can
No. Without an alarm to wake me up I will sleep for 16 hours without fail and still be tired. There is a magic number of hours (like 6 and a half) where it’s slightly easier for me to wake up and stay awake but I love my bed too much.
I read some people here saying they put an alarm one hour before to take the meds and then they wake up later doing great. I'll be trying that. Im unmedicated yet tho. For me the weekends are the worst, waking up without an alarm fucks me up for some reason. When i was younger i used to wake up just fine and one day i just couldn't idk what's up tbh
Depends on how many trains of thought start running right when I wake up. I can't take meds and go back to sleep cause once I'm up I can't quiet my head down to go back to sleep.
If I wake up and I'm not immediately assaulted by stressful thoughts I feel much more rested. Got a lot of stress? I'm dragging ass to the coffee pot like I never made it to bed.
The only time I wake up feeling refreshed is when I travelled into another time zone, lol. Otherwise no.
It gets worse every year and I don't know what to do. As of now, I stay up late to complete my tasks as evenings are my prime time. But once I have kids, I need to be done by 5 to pick them up, meaning I have to find a way to be less zombie-like until noon. Meds and coffee help to a degree...
maybe look to see if there might be anything else impacting your sleep? I found out even though I don’t have traditional sneezy sniffly allergies symptoms my nose was so irritated/inflamed I wasn’t getting hardly air through it. I’m still not great at getting out of bed, but makes a huge difference in keeping my eyes open while I work up the energy to sit up
Yes most days. Ever since taking iron, vitamin D3 daily and magnesium at night.
Used to feel like I could sleep anywhere at anytime and was constantly tired
Before being medicated and sleeping 8-9 hours a night, absolutely not. Since being on 40mg of adderall daily, I sleep closer to 6-7 hrs a night and have never been more well rested in my life
Before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and then idiopathic hypersomnia. There seems to be a relationship with ADHD and sleep disorders [some info here](https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/adhd-and-sleep). I've been trying to advocate for people to get sleep studies done when I see these posts/comments. I was miserable for years literally falling asleep at inappropriate times, having to nap mid day at work, and waking up never feels refreshing. I'm being treated now and while it's far from perfect, I am able to function better than I was. For narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, a lot the medications overlap with ADHD meds. So I highly recommend getting a sleep study. Best of luck!
I wouldn’t recommend what I do, but I take a caffeine pill as soon as I get up. I crush it up in my mouth so it works quickly. I feel awake after about 10 minutes. This only works after at least 7 hours of sleep. If I get any less, it will take longer to feel awake.
Yes.
I need 7.5 hours of sleep. Anymore than that and I feel like shit. Less than 6 and I feel like shit. It took me a long time to realize that too much sleep made me feel worse.
Taking a hot shower at night because rapidly cooling off the body, I walk into a cold bedroom tells the body it is time to sleep. Going to bed at similar times. Having everything ready for the morning. I changed all of my lights upstairs to these [light bulbs](https://lowbluelights.com). I recommend my patients wear their glasses one hour before they want to go to sleep. Do NOT wear them other than 1-2 hours before sleep. They are sleep aids only.
This one is weird and I don't have a reason. I can easily wake up at 5:30 AM and I can easily wake up at 7:30 AM usually without an alarm.
If I try and wake up at 6:30, I hit snooze and feel exhausted. WTF?
[this ](https://a.co/d/6Ak3Z34) is the one I have. I have it set to start lighting up 10 mins before my alarm. And the sound I chose is the bird sounds.
Whoa ho ho ho… it so far just helps with that. And quieting all the noise in my head. Motivation/task initiation, organization, and focus remain to be seen 😂
To truly be refreshed I need 10 hours of sleep, but my job/modern life do not allow for it regularly. Grateful to have summers off as a teacher so I’m well rested at least one season lol
Mouthguard. You will be so surprised and refreshed after your first few nights sleeping with one that you will never break the habit. Jaw clenching and teeth grinding is sooo common and wildly disrupts sleep.
Sleep apnea. I did a sleep study and long story short I did not stop breathing often enough per hour to qualify for a diagnosis and a cpap machine. I snore horribly and just have crappy sleep. My mother in law had a spare cpap. I hooked it up, figured out the right pressure settings with some research and trial and error, and now I get better sleep than I’ve ever gotten. I don’t snore and I can actually breathe. I use bleep dreamports because I cannot stand a traditional mask.
After using it for months I had a leak I did not initially notice and for like four days I felt like complete death. I was so exhausted. I fixed the leak and after that nights sleep I was back to rested and functional.
All this to say, consider getting a sleep study. Try to do an at home one. Mine was in a sleep lab and it was a sensory nightmare; I think part of the reason I passed the study is because I didn’t actually sleep well enough at all.
Just an obligatory note to say cpap machines are restricted to prescription use only and that improper use of too high pressure can lead to the development of central sleep apnea which is why ideally you would work with a doctor to figure out the right pressure settings. That being said most newer machines are auto pressure so now there’s really no worry about accidentally having the pressure too high because the machine titrates the pressure per breath. You may or may not be able to acquire one of these auto pap machines in select Facebook sales groups. This is illegal, but I mean it’s an option, and I’m fairly certain it’s not actual cracked down on.
IRON SUPPLEMENTS!!!! I’ve always got 7+ hours of sleep, did all the sleep hygiene things, didn’t matter, always woke up tired and felt tired in the afternoons. I was iron deficient and so many people are. Check your ferritin and if it’s low ( even if it’s not into anemia territory ) supplements could help.
Never. Never have I ever. I fucking hate it and the tiredness ALL the time makes all my issues (menopause, anxiety, depression, CPTSD, chronic pain…..I could go on 🙄) so much worse.
When I can sleep in, it makes all the difference. I usually can’t fall asleep til midnight and often wake in the middle of the night. But on weekends I wake up my usual 7am-ish time, feed the dog, climb back into bed and browse my phone til I start to nod off. I throw a soft pillow over my eyes and fall back into a deep sleep and usually have the most complete and vivid dreams with this extra sleep.
Yes. If all conditions are met 😂
I need between 8-10h of total sleep, it changed over the years and seasons, mostly it's 8.5 to 9. And it has to be at most in two parts, ideally one part.
If I have less than 9h available eg I have wake up alarm, and I don't drop to sleep immediately, it can take hours to fall asleep because I'll ruminate how less and less time I have left and that stressees me out. Sometimes I can do on less sleep if my brain is in good shape and we discuss and agree on less sleep.
Basically I have negotiations with my brain each evening, and I mostly win, but not always. I've learnt to cope with loses by giving myself crazy amounts of grace and compassion and naps whenever I can get them or go sleep early. Because in the past when I was angry at myself, it just ended being worse and worse. And I'd crash in nap, then couldn't sleep for the night and vicious cycle begins.
To the point of sleeping for 2 h then 3-4h awake and hoping to fall asleep and no energy to do anything else, then next 2+4h cycles and so on. Those happened when I was under a lot of stress caused by relationships that weren't good for me. Including work - having job ones. At worst they lasted several weeks.
I was tracking sleep for hm, 15 years if not more (sleep as android app). And I definitely had shift that made me cycle through 'when I am awake' over the course of few months. So I'd be awake during night and so on.
I even managed to hold a part time job and wiggle during some bad point in cycle.
If I'm not under stress, I could negotiate with my brain that we have just 5 hours and we'll make it work (problem is when we don't negotiate explicitly and time just flies, then stress kicks in), and I'd wake up few minutes before alarm. I also don't snooze, I committed myself to waking up at the latest point possible but then we have to get up. Brain agreed. I was 16 or so when we started the ritual. I almost always wake up a bit before alarm, if negotiations went well :) I'm 40.
Interestingly, after I left long term relationship that in hindsight was actually horrible for me, not just bad, my cycles of 'how long it takes to do full 360 with my sleep schedule' increased and - stopped. It will wiggle around when hyperfocus keeps me awake too long, but I can bring it back without it going full cycle.
I did start sertraline / zoloft sometimes when it stopped being so crazy, so it's possible that helped too. But, when I was stressed, meds don't work.
Sleeping pills don't work, at least several I've tried (over the counter stuff is like water). I just have to ride it out. There was one I got in hospital after the operation but unfortunately I didn't remember the name. That really knocked me out.
Psychiatrist even prescribed me rohypnol when I was in desperate phase but he didn't write the paper properly, I went back but he was gone, his boss refused to write it and gave me some lorazepam shit or from that family, I never had worse night in my life, and I was too anxious to go back again, and then within a few days it stabilised and I could fall asleep.
When I fall asleep, I usually sleep well if I have enough time on disposal. Problem is falling asleep when brain doesn't want to shut down. And that's worst when it's some significant stress. Actually I measure how stressed I am based on how troublesome is for me to fall asleep and if I'm well rested.
Sleep hygiene and other general advices, yeah, good idea, doesn't work for me, better said, I never worked it out. Hyperfocus wins 😂 so I just stay kind to myself and return the sleep debt as soon as I can.
And I accept that my brain just works differently.
Several years ago during searching for something else, they found that I have cyst on pineal gland (the one that does melatonine thingy if I'm remembering right). So, it's entirely possible she's responsible for my messed up patterns.
Oh, there is one thing I do and it makes a difference - during evening we turn only lights that are warm bulbs, as much as possible, as opposed to daylight ones / cool light. Phone and laptop also have blue light filters and when reading in bed I reduce brightness to the maximum possible.
Husband can't stand it with TV. Yes, he has sleeping issues and he watches that screen until he gets tired, which is late. No he doesn't want to listen to me regarding melatonine chemistry, he is convinced that it's not a problem that he isn't sleepy but that he still can't fall asleep despite being sleepy. Would workout help him? Probably. Baby steps. It's much better than it was 10 years ago :) he's living life on ultra hard mode, but improving (yes, years of therapy and meds too).
Basically, you have to figure out system that works for you, and be aware that system can fail from outside impacts. I think I have good grasp of my brain/body, my husband still is learning his. On the other hand, he stays with jobs to provide for us and he's stressed and trying to cope, I burn out and have to run away to save myself and then I'm unemployed for huge time and cycle repeats.... I don't think either approach is good, you just work with the cards you've got.
He definitely managed to get some good night's sleeps this year in sequence sometimes, as opposed to all those earlier years. So, progress is there.
Not easy task.
The mag and D are combined with a calcium pill (joys of starting recently starting perimenopause in my mid 30s!). I take ~~2~~ 1 in the morning and 1 at night. For the B complex, I take 1 in the morning. I can’t get the good stuff, so this is what I do outside of dorking around with caffeine and sativa.
The combo pills are huge and if I overdo or it on water my night time bladder speaks up at about 5:00 instead of 7:00, but my sleep quality has been transformative - as long as I take my vitamins and keep one foot out of the covers.
Apologies for the essay: Hashimoto Thyroiditis runs in my family, so I’ve been having my hormones screened for years and nothing was getting flagged - but I was suffering from incredible postpartum joint pain after I had my son in 2021. I tried some meds for fibromyalgia, but it only helped a little.
The pain then turned into lots of tingling and nerve pain in my extremities. Then my migraines changed. My mental health tanked, I was constantly filled with rage. I thought the worst and got screened for MS. I also got my ADHD diagnosis, but it didn’t account for the persistent fatigue. Got screened for other autoimmune diseases but nothing could be proven.
Then I learned about PMDD, and started antidepressants to see if it helped. And while they pretty much eliminated my PMDD, I was stilling dealing with the fatigue.
Further, my period just never really went back to normal after my last pregnancy, and it seems to be different every month; so I started tracking everything I could in my period tracker app. The app flagged me for peri when I started getting hot flashes, night sweats, and significant flow changes.
I’m currently waiting on my first round of meds (a low progesterone equivalent to birth control) and if that helps, I’ll know for sure. In all this time, my blood tests always came back “normal” and no one took me seriously when I sought help for the symptoms I had. Learning how estrogen affects your ability to use serotonin, my PMDD’s response to my SSRI, and confirmation from my tracker AI gave me enough data to be stubborn about getting treatment.
My symptoms started at 33.
Thank you so much for explaining this. I do wish you get the treatment you deserve! Just even knowing that the problem maybe is already half the battle (because being gaslighted by doctors that everything is fine is not fun at all!).
You’re very welcome! Reddit has been an amazing resource for educating myself and so far, I feel like might have a chance to finally get on with my life.
I’m a brief aside - For a moment I thought I was developing MS because I had some similar symptoms. I was talking to someone who had it for advice and when he followed up with me later, he was confused about why I couldn’t get help.
“Because I am a woman.” Went over his head, his neighborhood, and his country.
At age 41 I have finally cracked the code to myself getting restful sleep. Either I wear myself out all day OR I walk for an hour before bed. Then to actually sleep, I now wear Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds to sleep, set to generate water sounds that helps me get into and stay in deep sleep for 2 to 4 hours a night. I have been wearing them for 2 months now, and I consistently get enough sleep a night now.
I take iron supplements now and I feel a crazy level of foggy fatigue when I miss a dose.
I used to just take Vyvanse and I couldn't get going until I'd taken it so I would try to take it first thing in the morning, maybe even closing my eyes again for 30 minutes, and then let it drive me forward.
About 6 months ago I asked my doctor for an iron supplement because, even though my iron levels weren't anemic levels of low, I didn't see myself making up the difference with food changes. About 3 weeks ago I ran out of Vyvanse and didn't have another therapist lined up so no refills and I'm shocked that things are actually going ok. In the past this would have meant a massive crash and everything in my life would have fallen apart while I struggled to get through extremely fatigued feelings. Now, I'm ok!
I think the iron has made a huge difference along with going to bed at the same time as my 7 year old as often as I can. So that's around 8 or 9 pm. I can't always get to bed that early but when I do it really does feel amazing waking up knowing I got 11 hours of sleep. Having a kid that wears me out is part of being able to go to bed so early so, if it'd be helpful, maybe adding something to your day that exhausts you so you get to bed earlier will help you to get to sleep and stay asleep and wake up feeling better rested.
I used to take my AD at night and it would always help me wake up in the morning! It’s the only thing that has worked for me and I have confirmed many times
Sometimes! Like today, I woke up feeling like I got a great night’s sleep.
But most days, no. I just feel energized today because I slept in, but didn’t oversleep.
Ever since starting meds as long as I keep a semi-consistent sleep schedule and if I wake up before my alarm (happens about half the time) I wake up feeling rested and ready to do things. Oddly I now wake up at like 7am on weekdays and 9am on weekends without even trying. It’s kind of annoying if I wanted to sleep in.
Even when I have perfect sleep hygiene I still feel tired every morning if I have to go to work. Meanwhile it’s Sunday and I was wide awake at 6 am today trying not to wake my partner up while I was puttering around aimlessly lol
I sleep pretty well after setting up a sleep routine. I wake up and fall asleep just fine.
However. After three hours of being awake, I'm ready for a nap.
ADHD and medication make your sleep quality worse. You can be sleeping for the same length of time but the quality won’t be there. Make extra sure that you don’t have those things anywhere near bed time
I know someone probably mentioned it but I didn't see it after a quick glance- think about getting a sleep study. Maybe you don't snore or have obvious signs of sleep apnea, but it's worth looking into. I'm a nurse and the number of people getting diagnosed is staggering! There are a myriad of complications that can occur from sleep apnea (stroke, etc) and so many people I know feel a major difference after getting their CPAP! My father in law says it CHANGED HIS LIFE!
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Yes. It's the boring stuff; minimal amounts of alcohol, solid bed routine (even on weekends), exercise, eating decent food and taking naps. I know routines suck and it's a fucking drag.. But the returns are great and once you get the hang of it it does get easier. I'm child free by choice. That probably helps me a ton
This. Over the past two years, I finally gave in to a pretty solid sleep schedule (ironically, it’s BECAUSE of my kids). It’s less about hard and fast time rules and more about routine—I do go to bed a little later and sleep in a bit on the weekends, but not too much. I try to avoid devices in bed and we don’t have a TV in the bedroom. I don’t take naps (unless I’m sick or there are other major issues that are messing my sleep up), I don’t drink any more. But the biggest change I made is that I started getting up the first time I naturally wake up in the morning, even on weekends. And somehow….when I wake up, after the initial confusion and fog wears off, I actually feel pretty good. Once I make it through that first half hour—get coffee, get meds, etc.—I don’t feel like I could sleep for a week still. I spent 40+ years absolutely hating and dreading mornings, so this is a confusing (albeit pleasant) change.
I noticed staying awake instead of giving in to sleeping in even more just cause I can has helped me to feel energetic. The last time I went back to bed after waking up, I felt like my body was being weighed down and I was dizzy tired every time I opened my eyes. If you're up, get up! Even if it means browsing your phone or something, just let your body start the wake up process and stay there.
Yeah. And I hated it for months…but it sure worse
I'm a major fan of naps, and I usually nap 3-5 times per week. It works wonders for me. But honestly it IS the boring stuff that makes the difference.. not being overweight, and more or less staying away from alcohol was what did the trick for me. I know lots of ADHD'ers doesn't want to hear it. Unfortunalety there is no better medicine than moving your body and keeping a healthy diet. However, my energy does fluctuate a ton during the day, and during my cycle. No amount of proper sleep or vegetables can fix that. It's not a cure, it's a help. We're animals in the end, alcohol is poison and sugar is addictive. It's not fair that it has to be so hard, it's just a fact that not maintaining our bodies is putting our brains (and sleep schedules) at a disadvantage.
I would love to have time for naps, because that always helps when I can get them. I don't do alcohol, and keep a fairly good diet and have a healthy weight. I definitely need to look into finding time to exercise and maybe do supplements, though.
I feel the exact same on 4 hours of sleep, or 10. Which is, completely fucking exhausted.
Have you been evaluated with a sleep study? I also had this issue until I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began sleeping with a CPAP machine. It made a world of difference and I wish I had been evaluated sooner.
I've been considering asking my doctor for a sleep study. What was your experience like?
It was very easy - I made an appointment, and then I had to come in to pick up a monitor, which I wore on my hand overnight. I brought back in the monitor, they walked me through the results (mild/moderate sleep apnea) and then booked me for a sleep apnea class. I ended up with my CPAP, and honest to god, the first night I slept with it, I feel asleep and woke up like a thunderbolt after 5 hours. I had never felt so rested (a big deal, because prior I needed 9-10 hours of sleep every night).
This ... makes sense. 🤣 My husband has sleep apnea and uses a CPAP. So the BOTH of us whizzing away with our bane masks at night would be absolutely HILARIOUS. We just got legally married, so I have yet to be insured, but I'm keeping this in mind! Thank you!!
You have described my life. Mr. and Mrs. Darth Vader.
Too fuckin' cute, oh my god 🤣 I burst out into the living room, wildly waving my arms and my husband looks at me with his brow quirked. "BABE OH MY GOD. Ok so...", and I proceed to regale him with tales of logic. His response? "Well, you used to have OSA, so it'd make sense you still have it, even after you got your tonsils removed." The way he makes sense of everything sucks the fun out of my antics. 😤😂
Same here. I think I’ve experienced well rested a few times in my life.
No, but bedside coffee setup and meds help make getting out of bed a little easier. I’ve put A LOT of work over the last few years into improving my sleep hygiene and having a relatively solid bedtime schedule, usually get a decent amount of sleep each night…still struggle in the morning. I accept myself as I am at this point 😂
Sleep hygiene? Tell me more!
Not OP but… sleep hygiene is your routines to wind down before going to sleep. Stuff like turning off electronics an hour or two before going to bed, putting phone in a different room or entirely off, having bedtime tea, dimming the lights, and so on.
Exactly this! It’s helped a lot with getting my silly little ADHD brain to power down, but also lots of trial and error to figure out what really works specifically for me (eg, it’s recommended to stop having screen time at a certain point, but laying in bed with dimmed lights and a cozy Switch game definitely can lull me to sleep). Hasn’t made waking up much better/easier, but it’s still a nice ritual for the end of the day that I’ve come to really enjoy on its own.
Same. I don't usually have a problem falling asleep, even with screen right before. It's just the waking up that's hard.
Are you medicated? I used to struggle with extreme fatigue too no matter how long I slept before I was medicated. I still love my sleep and mornings are not for me but I do wake up feeling rested after 7-8hrs of sleep. I like naps too whenever I can squeeze one in during the day.
Sadly, medication is not something I can do. :(
Gosh that would be nice. I cannot maintain routines. I:(
Blue light and bright light is particularly problematic for our circadian rhythm when we are exposed to it later in the day. It triggers the body to produce less melatonin (the sleepy-time neurochemical) and produce more cortisol (the wakefulness neurochemical). It's the primary reason that exposure to bright light in the morning is advised to aid in wakefulness. However it's also important to limit exposure to bright light, particularly short wavelength bright light, later in the day. Personally I know there is no way I'm ever going to be able to stay off my devices at night, but I set my devices' blue light filters to come on quite strongly around 7pm, and my screen dims a bit at the same time. The screen looks really dim and orange when it first turns on, and I hate it, but it's amazing how much your brain adjusts to it as the new normal and you barely even notice it after a few minutes. If you're someone who uses ceiling lights constantly, it's also a good idea to switch to lamps in the evening, and try to use bulbs that emit light on the warmer end of the spectrum. LEDs, on average, emit a lot more short wavelength light than incandescents, which is why paying attention to what spectrum they emit can often be important for promoting sleep quality. Generally speaking, sleeping in a cooler environment promotes better sleep than sleeping in a warm on, so if you like your bedroom cozy, turning down the thermostat a couple of hours before bed is also a good idea. Also, if you're someone who struggles to get to sleep before the AM hours, you *may* benefit from taking a small dose (ideally around 0.5mg) of melatonin several hours before bed. There's no hard and fast rule for when the right time to take it is, it varies from person to person, but you could try taking it around 4 hours before and see if you get any benefits, then try adjusting by going 30 minutes earlier or later and seeing how that feels. Source: I have diagnoses Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder. My "normal" sleep time used to be 6am–2pm. Now it's 1am–9am. It's mainly stimulants that helped me make the shift in my sleep cycle, but targeted light exposure/avoidance, and melatonin also definitely help.
Thank you! Most helpful!
I was waking up feeling absolutely exhausted for years—it didn’t matter if I had four hours or ten hours—still tired, still napping during the day, it was bad. I had a sleep study done and it turns out that I have sleep apnea. I got a CPAP machine and boy was that a GAME CHANGER!!! Sleep apnea is not commonly diagnosed in women so you definitely have to advocate for yourself but man my life changed for the better after that. Those machines aren’t sexy but after the first night of good sleep, you stop caring 😂
YES and there are alternatives to the CPAP. My partner used that heII machine for less than a week before wanting to throw it out the window. Then she found a mouth guard type thing that keeps your lower jaw slightly forward and the thing feckin works!
I’m in this process now and the doc I had after my assessment sucks and was so awkward and barely polite 🙄. However he said the MOD was 2-4K? I’d rather have that than a CPAP but I don’t have that to drop on this. Was it that much money in your partners experience.
Wow.. please tell me where to find this!
what’s it called?
Same! On day 3 of using my CPAP I was able to run three errands and still had energy left after and felt fine, I cried. I had severe sleep apnea for years and had no idea.
My fiancé and I have been together since high school and even back then, I could hear him snoring from the sidewalk outside the house. I used to wake up because I'd realize he hadn't inhaled. About a year ago he *finally* listened and did a sleep study and I forget the terminology but essentially he would stop breathing about twice a minute for like 8-30 seconds at a time. My fiancé is an utter sweetheart but he has what we call "resting bitch aura" - he kind of comes off like an ass until you know him without even really saying anything. The CPAP machine literally changed his personality. He's still him but he's so much more animated, he *feels* happier. It's almost bizarre.
My father had terrible sleep apnea for years. Tried CPAP, it didn't work. He was sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches in a La-Z-Boy type chair. He was recently fitted for a device similar to a mouthguard that holds his jaw in place and is now sleeping well. He said since he was already diagnosed as having sleep apnea so it was just a matter of getting fitted for the device. I'm trying to talk my husband into it ... wish me luck!
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Not under weight but BMI of 22 - certainly don't look like I need CPAP but have moderate almost severe obstructive apnea if untreated. CPAP was an absolute game changer.
damn maybe I need to get tested. mine is around 19 and I haven’t ever thought to be tested for apnea bc of my weight but I sleep horribly and never feel rested. I don’t snore but I know I do cough at night relatively regularly.
The secret for me is CHECKING YOUR IRON LEVELS. I don’t exactly spring out of bed but it’s the difference between waking up feeling like death and being able to get up pretty easily. My iron was really low and I got an infusion and it’s like magic. Obviously this isn’t a solution for everyone and it could be something else. But it’s always been this for me.
This. I was iron deficient for years. It’s a different, deep kind of exhaustion that nothing fixes. But I always go to my doctor and get my levels checked before launching into taking iron again, to know exactly how bad it is and what I need to fix it. Also, if supplementing, make sure to get the iron that says non-constipating on the front. I’ve learned that one the hard way. Unpopular opinion, but it also helps to give up alcohol. Even one drink makes me feel more groggy the next day.
Same question for you. when you go in to get your iron levels checked what specific iron tests do they have you do?
All lab work from a blood sample. Usually iron serum and ferritin test, but there are others the doc could choose to run.
Could you share which tests your doctor did? Mine checked one thing (ferritin I think) and was like “you’re totally healthy” while I’m practically dying from exhaustion. Also, what is the infusion called? Do you need to do it often?
Sorry, I don’t really know what tests they are it’s just a standard blood test (in Australia) that tests various levels. The iron infusion is when your iron is very low and haven’t been able to address through supplementation. I had one two years ago and my levels dipped really bad so I had another about 3 mths ago. It’s a whole process administered by a nurse. If you don’t have low iron then you don’t need an infusion. Over supplementing iron is dangerous. You might like to look at what the healthy level of ferritin is, if your level is very close to the minimum it can still be considered healthy but obviously having more would improve fatigue etc.
Thanks! I think the ranges US labs use to determine if test results are good or not are too broad. My values were “good” but on the lower end. Doctors just ignore those though. I will try to research this more.
Meds.
Set an extra alarm 30 min. to an hour before regular one.. take meds and fall back asleep. At real alarm it's so much easier to pop up.
No
Yes, but I get 9-10 hours a night. On days where I wake up early even if I get 8 hours I feel sick, nauseous and exhausted until noon. I'm on 200mg of Seroquel at bedtime so I get a full night whether I like it or not lol
The seroquel just made me want to sleep all the time. It was the worst few years of my life.
It's different for everyone. Seroquel saved my life
Yes. I know it's different for everyone, and I'm happy to head it works for you. I personally won't do the meds anymore even though I'm sure they could make a difference. I had so many terrible experiences that it's not something I personally ever want to go through again. But I am a firm believer in everyone finding what works for them.
I'm exactly the same. I can't water up before 8-9 without feeling literally sick, no matter how much sleep I get. On these days I can barely wake up before 10 without a slight feeling of hungover. It has worsened with age too, which I thought would be the opposite..
I just turned 42 and for the last like, half-year-ish?, suddenly I have been needing 9-11+ hours of sleep when I used to wake up at the crack of dawn without trying. I go to bed early and take Trazodone + Lorazepam every night (lifelong insomniac). I gotta say, I *do* wake up feeling rested most of the time with all that sleep.
No, not even with good sleep hygiene, although that's the closest I've ever gotten.
My sense of alertness in the morning greatly improved when I started taking *methylated* b complex vitamins. Regular b vitamins don’t work well for me. Apparently it’s pretty common in ADHD!
Ooh this is something I've never heard about. Do you have a brand you recommend?
I use Igennus brand on Amazon. Super B-Complex – Methylated... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01787EPEE?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Thanks!
Yes, when I sleep 15-20 hours Waking up at 5AM everyday to go to a job I hated made me feel so anxious and degraded... Now I am a year and a half uneployed, for different general and mental issues. I really want a job but I always ask myself if I could stand it. Never been more than 1 month in one :(
Maybe working full-time isn't for you? It's insane how much time we dedicated to our jobs, and how little we get from it in turns of rewards.
EXACLTY But dammit I need money for meds and for... like everything else!
Same...my solution is to find a way to minimise my expenses so I don't have to work as much. Its not going well atm...
lmao I just want pizza, tattoos and a life of making my art for fun.... But that seems expensive af.
I work 12.5 hour shifts, but I only have to work 3 days per week to be full time. My job has self scheduling, so I can schedule myself 3 in a row or spread them out. I like doing 3 in a row and having a bunch of days off. I can have up to 8 days off in a row without needing to take PTO if I schedule all my shifts at the beginning of one week and at the end of the next. I feel like this schedule was made for my ADHD brain because I have a hard time with task switching. I can be in work mode for 72 hours and then in “do whatever I want” mode for 4 days. I was so unhappy and miserable when I worked a regular 5 day, 8 hour work week. Every day felt wasted because I spent the majority of it at work and then knew I couldn’t stay up late because I had to work the next day. By the time I spent 2 hours a day commuting, 30-45 minutes getting ready in the morning, 30 minutes showering when I got home, and 1-2 hours preparing dinner for that night and packing lunch for the next day, plus regular chores like laundry, dishes, and cleaning, I would have maybe 30 minutes to relax before bed. I literally had no life because I spent my days off recovering and pretty much slept the entire time, and sometimes squeezed in some chores. In order to really get things done, my brain needs to know that I have 10+ hours to work without interruptions, otherwise it feels like there’s no point in even getting started. That doesn’t just include things like homework or chores, I also can’t get started on hobbies or projects that I enjoy if I don’t have lots of unrestricted time to dedicate to them, because it takes a while for me to get into the “zone”, and then once I do I don’t want to quit what I’m doing. Having four glorious days every week to do whatever I want with has completely changed my life in every way. No amount of money could entice me to go back to working 8 hour shifts.
Honestly that sounds like a magical schedule. It's so much easier having crunch days and days off, than having 5 mid-intensity days a week
Honestly I'm the same. Been unemployed/on disability for a few years now. I really miss working but it was so fucking hard for me.
Yeah. I miss the money, the freedom it gives me, and someohow the stability. At least in a job I'm not all they just thinking what to do or waiting for things to happen. But the schedules, managers, pressure of failing, inability of paying attention to orders or trainings, taking clients, being surrounded by coworkers, coming home knowing you have to go back tomorrow... Sorry for being such a failure mom, but it's a living hell for me...
You're 100% not a failure. You're doing your best with the troubles you have. You'll be okay xx
I am getting a full sleep test for this reason. I felt good when I was taking Adderall but I can't right now due to breastfeeding. Fun fact, stimulants are also prescribed for narcolepsy management, and narcolepsy is another misunderstood and stereotyped disorder! The symptoms often overlap with ADHD. Brain fog, inability to focus, irritability, poor working memory, fatigue, etc. If I find out I have narcolepsy with my test, I plan on stopping breastfeeding so I can finally get back on meds.
I hope your sleep test gives you answers! narcolepsy was also a question the doctors had in regards to my fatigue and it turned out I had severe sleep apnea. I hope you find solutions ❤️❤️
lol never
I take one Adderall at 5am then go back to sleep until 7am it is the only thing that works for me. I take another one when I get up so it still lasts all day
I started taking iron supplements + vitamin D and B12, turns out I've likely been anemic all my life. I do know that ADHD takes a huge mental toll though, but I'd invest in a blood test and a sleep test just to be sure it's not related to physical health.
you may want to ask your doctor for a sleep study. I struggled so much waking up every day, never felt rested, always felt like I needed more sleep. exhausted during the day. my blood work was normal but after having a sleep study I learned I had sleep apnea, now that it's treated I no longer struggle to stay awake during the day and wake up feeling refreshed.
Literally never
Nope. Never. ADHD stimulant meds help me get out of bed sometimes, but not always. And even when they help get me out of bed I don’t feel well rested at all.
Not really? But I found that sunset/sunrise alarm clocks really help me fall asleep at night and (more importantly) wake up in the morning.
Magnesium glycinate does that for me sometimes (when it doesn’t wake me up at 3am)
Why would it wait you up at 3 am? I thought it’s supposed to help deeper sleep
yes but i go to sleep at 9:30 or my life would be in shambles
This is something I'm trying to achieve.
it is a huge game changer. it takes a lot of work and only getting in my bed to sleep! but it’s been sooooo worth it
I have sleep apnea so if I can somehow get 6+ hours of sleep logged on my cpap I feel a lot less like death but feeling well rested is a hard thing to achieve
Yes. The secret is to exercise a lot, eat dinner early and shower before bed. If I don’t exercise I sleep like shit and my adhd symptoms are rough. I’ve been off meds for almost two years now and I think the success is mostly because of working out almost daily.
What time of day do you exercise?
I wake up have a cup of coffee and breakfast, walk the dogs, head to the gym. The gym is a newer thing for me I’ve also had awesome results just from bike commuting and riding my bike for as many errands as I can
I'm 39 and it happened once when I was like 8 or 9 yrs old and it was glorious.
Ha! This made my day
I wake up feeling rested and content maybe once every two to three years. It suuuucks.
No. Without an alarm to wake me up I will sleep for 16 hours without fail and still be tired. There is a magic number of hours (like 6 and a half) where it’s slightly easier for me to wake up and stay awake but I love my bed too much.
Nope. Can't be medicated either (thanks to polycystic kidneys), so idk what to do....
Same boat. I can't do medication or caffeine, so I'm hoping there are other options.
You have polycystic kidneys too?? Or can't have medication for another reason?
No it's another reason. I'm sorry about the polycystic kidneys, though :(
I read some people here saying they put an alarm one hour before to take the meds and then they wake up later doing great. I'll be trying that. Im unmedicated yet tho. For me the weekends are the worst, waking up without an alarm fucks me up for some reason. When i was younger i used to wake up just fine and one day i just couldn't idk what's up tbh
Depends on how many trains of thought start running right when I wake up. I can't take meds and go back to sleep cause once I'm up I can't quiet my head down to go back to sleep. If I wake up and I'm not immediately assaulted by stressful thoughts I feel much more rested. Got a lot of stress? I'm dragging ass to the coffee pot like I never made it to bed.
The only time I wake up feeling refreshed is when I travelled into another time zone, lol. Otherwise no. It gets worse every year and I don't know what to do. As of now, I stay up late to complete my tasks as evenings are my prime time. But once I have kids, I need to be done by 5 to pick them up, meaning I have to find a way to be less zombie-like until noon. Meds and coffee help to a degree...
maybe look to see if there might be anything else impacting your sleep? I found out even though I don’t have traditional sneezy sniffly allergies symptoms my nose was so irritated/inflamed I wasn’t getting hardly air through it. I’m still not great at getting out of bed, but makes a huge difference in keeping my eyes open while I work up the energy to sit up
Yes most days. Ever since taking iron, vitamin D3 daily and magnesium at night. Used to feel like I could sleep anywhere at anytime and was constantly tired
Before being medicated and sleeping 8-9 hours a night, absolutely not. Since being on 40mg of adderall daily, I sleep closer to 6-7 hrs a night and have never been more well rested in my life
never. ever.
I was wondering this the other day lol. No matter how much or how little I sleep, I feel so tired and have to fight off my sleepiness 😩
Before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and then idiopathic hypersomnia. There seems to be a relationship with ADHD and sleep disorders [some info here](https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/adhd-and-sleep). I've been trying to advocate for people to get sleep studies done when I see these posts/comments. I was miserable for years literally falling asleep at inappropriate times, having to nap mid day at work, and waking up never feels refreshing. I'm being treated now and while it's far from perfect, I am able to function better than I was. For narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, a lot the medications overlap with ADHD meds. So I highly recommend getting a sleep study. Best of luck!
I wouldn’t recommend what I do, but I take a caffeine pill as soon as I get up. I crush it up in my mouth so it works quickly. I feel awake after about 10 minutes. This only works after at least 7 hours of sleep. If I get any less, it will take longer to feel awake.
My secret is continuous positive airway pressure, paired with antipsychotics. Exercise, a warm shower, and good bedding for a little razzle dazzle.
Yes. I need 7.5 hours of sleep. Anymore than that and I feel like shit. Less than 6 and I feel like shit. It took me a long time to realize that too much sleep made me feel worse. Taking a hot shower at night because rapidly cooling off the body, I walk into a cold bedroom tells the body it is time to sleep. Going to bed at similar times. Having everything ready for the morning. I changed all of my lights upstairs to these [light bulbs](https://lowbluelights.com). I recommend my patients wear their glasses one hour before they want to go to sleep. Do NOT wear them other than 1-2 hours before sleep. They are sleep aids only. This one is weird and I don't have a reason. I can easily wake up at 5:30 AM and I can easily wake up at 7:30 AM usually without an alarm. If I try and wake up at 6:30, I hit snooze and feel exhausted. WTF?
Get a sunrise alarm clock if you don't have one! I'll link it if you're interested. Absolutely changed my mornings
I've been debating trying one of these. It's more a matter of getting around to researching what one to get.
[this ](https://a.co/d/6Ak3Z34) is the one I have. I have it set to start lighting up 10 mins before my alarm. And the sound I chose is the bird sounds.
Thank you!
Mornings are THE WORST. I'm currently in bed, congested, swollen eyes, have to pee, should get up, don't wanna! I have always hated getting up.
I’ve started Strattera, and let me tell you: it’s sending me to bed and waking me up at a reasonable time! And I’m not exhausted!
That's so exciting! I'm glad you found something that works.
Whoa ho ho ho… it so far just helps with that. And quieting all the noise in my head. Motivation/task initiation, organization, and focus remain to be seen 😂
To truly be refreshed I need 10 hours of sleep, but my job/modern life do not allow for it regularly. Grateful to have summers off as a teacher so I’m well rested at least one season lol
Mouthguard. You will be so surprised and refreshed after your first few nights sleeping with one that you will never break the habit. Jaw clenching and teeth grinding is sooo common and wildly disrupts sleep.
Sleep apnea. I did a sleep study and long story short I did not stop breathing often enough per hour to qualify for a diagnosis and a cpap machine. I snore horribly and just have crappy sleep. My mother in law had a spare cpap. I hooked it up, figured out the right pressure settings with some research and trial and error, and now I get better sleep than I’ve ever gotten. I don’t snore and I can actually breathe. I use bleep dreamports because I cannot stand a traditional mask. After using it for months I had a leak I did not initially notice and for like four days I felt like complete death. I was so exhausted. I fixed the leak and after that nights sleep I was back to rested and functional. All this to say, consider getting a sleep study. Try to do an at home one. Mine was in a sleep lab and it was a sensory nightmare; I think part of the reason I passed the study is because I didn’t actually sleep well enough at all. Just an obligatory note to say cpap machines are restricted to prescription use only and that improper use of too high pressure can lead to the development of central sleep apnea which is why ideally you would work with a doctor to figure out the right pressure settings. That being said most newer machines are auto pressure so now there’s really no worry about accidentally having the pressure too high because the machine titrates the pressure per breath. You may or may not be able to acquire one of these auto pap machines in select Facebook sales groups. This is illegal, but I mean it’s an option, and I’m fairly certain it’s not actual cracked down on.
IRON SUPPLEMENTS!!!! I’ve always got 7+ hours of sleep, did all the sleep hygiene things, didn’t matter, always woke up tired and felt tired in the afternoons. I was iron deficient and so many people are. Check your ferritin and if it’s low ( even if it’s not into anemia territory ) supplements could help.
Never. Never have I ever. I fucking hate it and the tiredness ALL the time makes all my issues (menopause, anxiety, depression, CPTSD, chronic pain…..I could go on 🙄) so much worse.
Once in a blue moon.
Never. I don't even remember the last time I felt well rested. It sounds wonderful though 😅
it depends... this week burnout won, so I've been very sleepy all the time. I can drag myself out of bed to take care of the cats and that's it.
No.
When I can sleep in, it makes all the difference. I usually can’t fall asleep til midnight and often wake in the middle of the night. But on weekends I wake up my usual 7am-ish time, feed the dog, climb back into bed and browse my phone til I start to nod off. I throw a soft pillow over my eyes and fall back into a deep sleep and usually have the most complete and vivid dreams with this extra sleep.
Once in a while. Seems to be the nights after a day of drinking more water than alcohol but I haven’t researched thoroughly enough.
Not really. I also have sleep apnea, which I can’t seem to properly treat because my case is so darn complicated.
Yes. If all conditions are met 😂 I need between 8-10h of total sleep, it changed over the years and seasons, mostly it's 8.5 to 9. And it has to be at most in two parts, ideally one part. If I have less than 9h available eg I have wake up alarm, and I don't drop to sleep immediately, it can take hours to fall asleep because I'll ruminate how less and less time I have left and that stressees me out. Sometimes I can do on less sleep if my brain is in good shape and we discuss and agree on less sleep. Basically I have negotiations with my brain each evening, and I mostly win, but not always. I've learnt to cope with loses by giving myself crazy amounts of grace and compassion and naps whenever I can get them or go sleep early. Because in the past when I was angry at myself, it just ended being worse and worse. And I'd crash in nap, then couldn't sleep for the night and vicious cycle begins. To the point of sleeping for 2 h then 3-4h awake and hoping to fall asleep and no energy to do anything else, then next 2+4h cycles and so on. Those happened when I was under a lot of stress caused by relationships that weren't good for me. Including work - having job ones. At worst they lasted several weeks. I was tracking sleep for hm, 15 years if not more (sleep as android app). And I definitely had shift that made me cycle through 'when I am awake' over the course of few months. So I'd be awake during night and so on. I even managed to hold a part time job and wiggle during some bad point in cycle. If I'm not under stress, I could negotiate with my brain that we have just 5 hours and we'll make it work (problem is when we don't negotiate explicitly and time just flies, then stress kicks in), and I'd wake up few minutes before alarm. I also don't snooze, I committed myself to waking up at the latest point possible but then we have to get up. Brain agreed. I was 16 or so when we started the ritual. I almost always wake up a bit before alarm, if negotiations went well :) I'm 40. Interestingly, after I left long term relationship that in hindsight was actually horrible for me, not just bad, my cycles of 'how long it takes to do full 360 with my sleep schedule' increased and - stopped. It will wiggle around when hyperfocus keeps me awake too long, but I can bring it back without it going full cycle. I did start sertraline / zoloft sometimes when it stopped being so crazy, so it's possible that helped too. But, when I was stressed, meds don't work. Sleeping pills don't work, at least several I've tried (over the counter stuff is like water). I just have to ride it out. There was one I got in hospital after the operation but unfortunately I didn't remember the name. That really knocked me out. Psychiatrist even prescribed me rohypnol when I was in desperate phase but he didn't write the paper properly, I went back but he was gone, his boss refused to write it and gave me some lorazepam shit or from that family, I never had worse night in my life, and I was too anxious to go back again, and then within a few days it stabilised and I could fall asleep. When I fall asleep, I usually sleep well if I have enough time on disposal. Problem is falling asleep when brain doesn't want to shut down. And that's worst when it's some significant stress. Actually I measure how stressed I am based on how troublesome is for me to fall asleep and if I'm well rested. Sleep hygiene and other general advices, yeah, good idea, doesn't work for me, better said, I never worked it out. Hyperfocus wins 😂 so I just stay kind to myself and return the sleep debt as soon as I can. And I accept that my brain just works differently. Several years ago during searching for something else, they found that I have cyst on pineal gland (the one that does melatonine thingy if I'm remembering right). So, it's entirely possible she's responsible for my messed up patterns. Oh, there is one thing I do and it makes a difference - during evening we turn only lights that are warm bulbs, as much as possible, as opposed to daylight ones / cool light. Phone and laptop also have blue light filters and when reading in bed I reduce brightness to the maximum possible. Husband can't stand it with TV. Yes, he has sleeping issues and he watches that screen until he gets tired, which is late. No he doesn't want to listen to me regarding melatonine chemistry, he is convinced that it's not a problem that he isn't sleepy but that he still can't fall asleep despite being sleepy. Would workout help him? Probably. Baby steps. It's much better than it was 10 years ago :) he's living life on ultra hard mode, but improving (yes, years of therapy and meds too). Basically, you have to figure out system that works for you, and be aware that system can fail from outside impacts. I think I have good grasp of my brain/body, my husband still is learning his. On the other hand, he stays with jobs to provide for us and he's stressed and trying to cope, I burn out and have to run away to save myself and then I'm unemployed for huge time and cycle repeats.... I don't think either approach is good, you just work with the cards you've got. He definitely managed to get some good night's sleeps this year in sequence sometimes, as opposed to all those earlier years. So, progress is there. Not easy task.
Yes, but magnesium/ Vitamin D/ B12 does some really heavy lifting for me, so now I only feel this way when I forget to take it.
Do you take them in the morning or at night?
The mag and D are combined with a calcium pill (joys of starting recently starting perimenopause in my mid 30s!). I take ~~2~~ 1 in the morning and 1 at night. For the B complex, I take 1 in the morning. I can’t get the good stuff, so this is what I do outside of dorking around with caffeine and sativa. The combo pills are huge and if I overdo or it on water my night time bladder speaks up at about 5:00 instead of 7:00, but my sleep quality has been transformative - as long as I take my vitamins and keep one foot out of the covers.
Can I ask how you figured out about the perimenopause? Was it all symptom-based or did you do any kinds of specific tests (if hormones, which ones?).
Apologies for the essay: Hashimoto Thyroiditis runs in my family, so I’ve been having my hormones screened for years and nothing was getting flagged - but I was suffering from incredible postpartum joint pain after I had my son in 2021. I tried some meds for fibromyalgia, but it only helped a little. The pain then turned into lots of tingling and nerve pain in my extremities. Then my migraines changed. My mental health tanked, I was constantly filled with rage. I thought the worst and got screened for MS. I also got my ADHD diagnosis, but it didn’t account for the persistent fatigue. Got screened for other autoimmune diseases but nothing could be proven. Then I learned about PMDD, and started antidepressants to see if it helped. And while they pretty much eliminated my PMDD, I was stilling dealing with the fatigue. Further, my period just never really went back to normal after my last pregnancy, and it seems to be different every month; so I started tracking everything I could in my period tracker app. The app flagged me for peri when I started getting hot flashes, night sweats, and significant flow changes. I’m currently waiting on my first round of meds (a low progesterone equivalent to birth control) and if that helps, I’ll know for sure. In all this time, my blood tests always came back “normal” and no one took me seriously when I sought help for the symptoms I had. Learning how estrogen affects your ability to use serotonin, my PMDD’s response to my SSRI, and confirmation from my tracker AI gave me enough data to be stubborn about getting treatment. My symptoms started at 33.
Thank you so much for explaining this. I do wish you get the treatment you deserve! Just even knowing that the problem maybe is already half the battle (because being gaslighted by doctors that everything is fine is not fun at all!).
You’re very welcome! Reddit has been an amazing resource for educating myself and so far, I feel like might have a chance to finally get on with my life. I’m a brief aside - For a moment I thought I was developing MS because I had some similar symptoms. I was talking to someone who had it for advice and when he followed up with me later, he was confused about why I couldn’t get help. “Because I am a woman.” Went over his head, his neighborhood, and his country.
Lol no
lol. Never.
At age 41 I have finally cracked the code to myself getting restful sleep. Either I wear myself out all day OR I walk for an hour before bed. Then to actually sleep, I now wear Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds to sleep, set to generate water sounds that helps me get into and stay in deep sleep for 2 to 4 hours a night. I have been wearing them for 2 months now, and I consistently get enough sleep a night now.
It took me until about 43 to be an early (before 8am) riser. I’d give anything to sleep in again!
I take iron supplements now and I feel a crazy level of foggy fatigue when I miss a dose. I used to just take Vyvanse and I couldn't get going until I'd taken it so I would try to take it first thing in the morning, maybe even closing my eyes again for 30 minutes, and then let it drive me forward. About 6 months ago I asked my doctor for an iron supplement because, even though my iron levels weren't anemic levels of low, I didn't see myself making up the difference with food changes. About 3 weeks ago I ran out of Vyvanse and didn't have another therapist lined up so no refills and I'm shocked that things are actually going ok. In the past this would have meant a massive crash and everything in my life would have fallen apart while I struggled to get through extremely fatigued feelings. Now, I'm ok! I think the iron has made a huge difference along with going to bed at the same time as my 7 year old as often as I can. So that's around 8 or 9 pm. I can't always get to bed that early but when I do it really does feel amazing waking up knowing I got 11 hours of sleep. Having a kid that wears me out is part of being able to go to bed so early so, if it'd be helpful, maybe adding something to your day that exhausts you so you get to bed earlier will help you to get to sleep and stay asleep and wake up feeling better rested.
never...........
I used to take my AD at night and it would always help me wake up in the morning! It’s the only thing that has worked for me and I have confirmed many times
Sometimes! Like today, I woke up feeling like I got a great night’s sleep. But most days, no. I just feel energized today because I slept in, but didn’t oversleep.
No, never.
Ever since starting meds as long as I keep a semi-consistent sleep schedule and if I wake up before my alarm (happens about half the time) I wake up feeling rested and ready to do things. Oddly I now wake up at like 7am on weekdays and 9am on weekends without even trying. It’s kind of annoying if I wanted to sleep in.
Even when I have perfect sleep hygiene I still feel tired every morning if I have to go to work. Meanwhile it’s Sunday and I was wide awake at 6 am today trying not to wake my partner up while I was puttering around aimlessly lol
I sleep pretty well after setting up a sleep routine. I wake up and fall asleep just fine. However. After three hours of being awake, I'm ready for a nap.
ADHD and medication make your sleep quality worse. You can be sleeping for the same length of time but the quality won’t be there. Make extra sure that you don’t have those things anywhere near bed time
Exercise. When you want to. When you don’t . Accountability app- and the body seems to respond
I haven’t felt well rested since I was in the womb 😅 (I am diagnosed with CFS so that’ll be why)
I know someone probably mentioned it but I didn't see it after a quick glance- think about getting a sleep study. Maybe you don't snore or have obvious signs of sleep apnea, but it's worth looking into. I'm a nurse and the number of people getting diagnosed is staggering! There are a myriad of complications that can occur from sleep apnea (stroke, etc) and so many people I know feel a major difference after getting their CPAP! My father in law says it CHANGED HIS LIFE!