Time for Bed! Sleep Solutions for the ADHD Brain (with Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D.)

Learn sleep solutions for ADHD brains with Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D.

People with attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) often struggle with sleep — whether it is difficulty falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, problems waking up, or issues staying awake during the day. Serious sleep disorders are common in children and adults with ADHD. The reasons for these sleep challenges are many, everything from circadian rhythm and neurological abnormalities to engaging in common ADHD behaviors like overstimulating activities late at night.

Studies show that poor or insufficient sleep exacerbates ADHD symptoms. Assessing your sleep status and developing ADHD-friendly interventions for sleep problems and disorders are essential. We will use the latest research to shed light on the unique challenges of the ADHD brain and the critical importance of sleep to healthy brain development in children and teens. You will learn how other ADHD patients struggled and overcame sleep disorders, and hear about the speaker’s own experience with sleep apnea.

Download the slides associated with this webinar here:

4:38 ADHD and Sleep
5:27 Common Sleep Issues and Sleep Disorders
14:06 ADHD and Sleep Research
18:34 How Sleep Issues Affect ADHD
20:52 Theories: ADHD and Sleep
24:50 Assessment
29:14 Treatment for Sleep Problems
36:33 Questions and Answers

Related Resources

2. Download: Better Than Counting Sheep! Your Free Guide to Sleeping Better

[hektik]

I have ADD and it took me decades to be able to easily fall asleep. What did it for me was getting my insulin under control with nutrition, a ketogenic diet, and intermittent fasting.

[crazicountrygirl]

YouTube was MADE for ADHDers! Thank God for the red slider on the bottom, so we can re watch when our mind wanders 🤣. I have wandered and rewatched about 8 times already and I'm only half way through the video. 😳

[NoxCattus]

POV: you're watching this at 2am on a worknight when you have to be up at 730 😆

[debbiedebbie]

I'm scrolling through videos and see this title. It's currently 4:50 AM (!) and I'm sitting ON my bed, but should have been sleeping six HOURS AGO. 😳☹️🙈🙈🙈💁‍♀️💁‍♀️💁‍♀️

[dark_fire_ice]

I need this, 34 ADHD and sleep has never been easy. I just got a sleep study done, awaiting results.
My Oura ring is what convinced me to get a sleep study so that's a good thing

[martinsanders]

I often miss whole night's sleep all too easily, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. And then sometimes the catch up is 24-40 hr sleeps, which is no fun to wake up from, and often 12 to 18 hrs to come round from. Sleep deprivation can be great fun, where creativity and humour can go to next level, which is obviously appealing to creatives, but most people have to shut down and sleep. I've had partners and have friends who lay their heads on the pillow as if it's a sleep switch, sometimes half way through a sentence, and poof, they're gone, which is a highly enviable ability at times.

[debbiedebbie]

I can sleep just fine..., I just have trouble making myself GO TO Ugh.

[wvjaybird]

Wow! This is a lot of information. Thanks!!

[gaellemarc]

Hi there. One hour videos for ADHD people ? I find it hard to follow. We like quick and resumed knowledge.

[GenRN]

I have 6 aquariums. It’s a great adhd hobby. Helpful for winding down.

[kriswalker]

It would be nice to touch on the links with ADHD and bed wetting. My ex did when he was young and my second daughter did but she was never diagnosed with ADHD.

[jessinaespinal]

Wow! Sleep paralysis is some scary crap! It still happens every once in a while. It’s terrifying.

[michaelv]

If you want the real science on sleep, check out Mathew Walker. He is a scientist at UC Berkeley and has run a sleep lab there for years. He is clear that circadian rhythms are innate. You can change your sleep time, but only temporarily.

[crazicountrygirl]

My sleep study was a nightmare! I COULDNT go to sleep no matter what I tried! I FINALLY fell asleep at 3:30 am and they woke me up at 6! I was so mad, I never went back for the results. Someone dropped the ball and I didn't get the sleeping pill they wanted me to take for the study, so I had NOTHING to help me shut my brain off to go to sleep. At home, I use cannabis (legal in my state recreationally), to make myself just sleepy enough to shut off my brain. It has worked for me for 10 years now. I have learned how to control my dosage so I am just sleepy and not high. I wake completely refreshed and not groggy, like pharmaceuticals. Also, if I wake in the night, I can use a little more and still not be groggy. Note: This does not work if it is used during waking hours also. I also love the fact that I don't have to answer to somebody with an alphabet behind their name 🩺😉

[kelsco]

Hi. Thank you. I take 600 micrograms (not even 1mg) based on a doctor ordere test for my own melatonin production

[Nbgrangran]

ADHD autism a bunch more. Plus I have an extreme immediate tolerance to most medications alcohol freezing. Soooo no addiction or caffeine issues here 😮

[publius]

Listen to his other videos before you endorse this man.