Thoroughly ADHD
I'm Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and person with ADHD. I'm here to share what I've learned so other people with ADHD can enjoy better lives!
Thoroughly ADHD
Your ADHD Brain Isn't Lazy—It's Running on a Different Clock
Ever set five different alarm clocks only to sleep through them all? You're not alone. For the 75% of us with ADHD who struggle with delayed sleep-wake cycles, mornings aren't just tough—they're biologically challenging. Your brain literally processes wake-up signals differently, receiving them later and more gradually than neurotypical brains.
The shame and judgment we face for oversleeping runs deep. We've been labeled lazy, undisciplined, or unmotivated when the reality is far more complex. Our difficulties waking up stem from genuine neurochemical differences—the same neurotransmitters that help others wake with the sunrise arrive in our brains as a slow drip rather than a tidal wave. Add in common ADHD-related sleep disorders like restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea, and it's no wonder mornings feel impossible.
But there's hope. By establishing consistent wake times (yes, even on weekends), experimenting with sleep duration, and finding alarms that actually work for you—whether that's a bed-shaking sonic boom clock, a strategically-timed medication dose, or a hungry pet—you can gradually reset your internal clock. Morning sunlight exposure, physical activity, and evening preparation all play crucial roles too. Remember: this isn't about moral strength; it's about finding strategies that work with your unique neurobiology. Keep experimenting, maintain what works, adjust what doesn't, and be patient with yourself. Your ADHD brain isn't broken—it just runs on a different schedule.
Subscribe for more practical ADHD strategies, including next week's episode on evening sleep techniques that complement these morning approaches!
Why can't I wake up in the morning? If you have ADHD, chances are you've been repeatedly shamed for oversleeping and have gained a reputation for being late for school or work or maybe anything that starts before noon. About 75% of people with ADHD suffer from circadian rhythm disorders that delay their sleep-wake cycles by 90 minutes or more, and it's so hard to overcome this. The most important thing you can do to wake up on time is to wake at the same time every day, even on the weekends or on vacation. But how do I do that, you ask. I feel your pain. When I was in college, I'd set five different alarm clocks, but it was people in the hall pounding on my door and screaming shut off those effing alarms that finally woke me every morning. I'm Alex Delmar, a certified coach and person with ADHD, and this is Thoroughly ADHD, where I share what I've learned. To help other people with ADHD enjoy better lives, there are a ton of strategies you can adopt to help you adjust the timing and quality of your sleep as a whole. These are referred to as sleep hygiene.
Speaker 1:In this episode, I'll cover a few things you can do in the morning To develop an achievable, consistent morning routine. Experiment with the time you wake up and the amount of time you sleep. Realizing that I only wake up in multiples of 45 minutes, like seven and a half hours or eight hours and 15 minutes, made a huge difference for me. Also, try different types of alarms. I'll sleep right through my phone, but I'll usually wake for a combination of a radio station I hate, set at max volume, and a sonic boom alarm which is extremely loud and shakes the bed, and just for days I absolutely positively have to be up on time A screaming meanie. It's so loud I'm sort of afraid of it going off. And your alarm doesn't have to be electronic. Pets can be very persistent if they are counting on you to feed or walk them in the morning. If you are taking medication for your ADHD, you can try setting an alarm for an hour ahead of when you want to get up just to take your meds. Or you can ask your doctor about a time-release medication you can take the night before.
Speaker 1:Another important step is that once you're up, you get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure within the first hour of waking to help reset your internal clock. For instance, you could eat breakfast outside or go out for a walk. The walk will do double duty of improving your focus and helping you get better quality sleep. Vitamin deficiencies can lead to sleep issues, so aim for a healthy breakfast with some lean protein and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. You can learn more about how exercise and nutrition affect ADHD in the Thoroughly ADHD episode. The Cornerstones of ADHD Treatment Can Save your Life. In order to make mornings less stressful, in the event you do oversleep, get everything possible ready the night before Lay out clothes, pack lunch, print out your reports, input the address into GPS. Whatever you can do ahead of time, you should.
Speaker 1:To me, the most upsetting aspect of ADHD-related difficulties with waking is that we've been taught it's a moral failing on our part, but the sleep-wake cycle is controlled by certain chemical messengers in the brain, aka neurotransmitters, working in concert with the sun. A person without ADHD gets a tidal wave of wake-up messages as the sun rises, but in ADHD brains these neurotransmitters are released later and in a slow drip that takes a long time to build up enough for us to get the message. This is probably why some of us are just hitting our stride as the people around us are winding down for the day. Another reason we struggle with waking at a socially acceptable hour is that we have a harder time getting enough good quality sleep. The go-to-sleep neurotransmitters, like melatonin, are also delayed compared to those of people without ADHD. On top of that, weak executive function impacts our ability to practice good sleep hygiene and, in addition to delayed sleep phase disorders, people with ADHD are far more likely to suffer from other sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea.
Speaker 1:It will take effort to wake earlier, but you can do it. Remember to employ the scientific method of ADHD symptom management. Keep trying different things and noticing the results. Keep the strategies that work, tweak the ones that get close to your desired results and dump the ones that fail. I know your time is valuable, so I hope you found something useful here and that you'll like follow and come back next Tuesday when I'll cover some good sleep strategies for the evening. Thanks for listening.