Why do insomnia and ADHD often go hand-in-hand?

Sleep is the foundation of health, so when you can’t sleep well, all other aspects of physical and mental health can start to suffer. There are many layers to what can affect your sleep patterns, though. It’s important to get down to the root of insomnia so that it can be effectively treated. There is a distinct connection between insomnia and ADHD. Let’s look at some of these connections and how they can be dealt with.

ADHD and Sleep

Individuals with ADHD often start to see changes in their sleep patterns around the time of puberty. They may experience trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. They are also at a higher risk of developing sleep disorders. Nightmares might be common in young children with ADHD as well, which can cause disruptions in sleep patterns. These issues seem to only get worse as someone ages.

Insomnia Explained

It’s also important to understand what insomnia is, as it affects one in three adults, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Many people use this term lightly to describe any type of sleep disturbance when in fact insomnia is different. Insomnia is diagnosed as a pattern of being unable to fall asleep, stay asleep, and or sleep as long as needed. People with true insomnia will lie awake for hours after lying down. People may also wake up much earlier than they intend to or be unable to fall back asleep after only sleeping for a short time.

Causes of ADHD Insomnia

People with ADHD struggle with insomnia because there are certain symptoms of ADHD that naturally disrupt sleep. One major contributor is the fact that people with ADHD have a different circadian rhythm than other people. Their bodies naturally want to be up when others want to be asleep.

Another issue is hyper-focus. Hyper-focus is a problem people with ADHD deal with in which they cannot turn their focus off of something at an appropriate time. They may stay up very late working on a project or hobby when they should put it aside and go to sleep. Time blindness is another problem in which a person with ADHD doesn’t have a realistic grasp of the passing of time; things that seem recent actually happened a long time ago and vice versa, which can disturb sleep patterns.

If you would like to learn more about sleep health or insomnia and ADHD, please contact Peace Medical today. We are here to help you on your physical and mental health journey.