Alt text: A woman peacefully sleeping with a blue eye mask in a dimly lit room.
Photo by Polina from Pexels
Too Long, Didn’t Read:
Findings: Adults with ADHD often have a “delayed” internal clock (staying up later) and more fragmented, unpredictable energy patterns throughout the day. While ADHDers generally have more sleep challenges, this study found that their daily cognitive and emotional symptoms weren’t actually influenced by how well they slept the night before.
Why? It’s likely all about compensation! ADHD adults are masters of working around their biology—napping or adjusting their schedules to stay functional.
Takeaway: Don’t fight your inner night owl. Work with your rhythm and use morning light exposure to help ground your internal clock.
Hi everyone, welcome to the first Science post of the Little Birdie Blog! Given my research background, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share some interesting neurodivergent research I come across.
Sleep challenges are a commonly reported symptom of people with ADHD. There’s a lot of research on how these sleep challenges affect the circadian rhythm (our body’s internal clock, which regulates when we sleep and wake up, among other functions).
A problem with this research is that it is primarily done on children, which may not reflect the reality of ADHD adults. Understanding sleep in ADHD adults is super important given the more harmful consequences of sleep deprivation in adults, such as automotive accidents and poorer health.
There likely doesn’t exist one reason for sleep challenges with ADHD. Existing research suggests that it is due to an interconnected relationship between the circadian rhythm, cognitive factors (e.g., racing thoughts and rumination), and emotional states. Though, these findings are not strong, as they relied on subjective methods of testing. Studies that used more objective methods, on the other hand, found results that did not align with the subjective research!
The Big Question
The scientists decided to use both subjective and objective research methods to better understand the relationship between sleep, cognitive factors, and emotional symptoms in adult ADHD.
The Setup
Fifty-four adults with ADHD (ages 18-57 years) and 47 adults without ADHD (ages 18 – 36) visited the University Hospitals of Strasbourg for the study. They used subjective, self-report questionnaires to assess sleep quality, ADHD (e.g., inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity), cognition (e.g., executive functioning), and emotional symptoms. Objectively, they monitored sleep patterns and physical rest-activity for over 10 days using a wristband device called an actimeter that works similarly to a FitBit.
The Discovery
Compared to adults without ADHD, adults with ADHD had more unstable and delayed circadian rhythms. This means that the ADHD adults were more likely to be sleepy later than people without ADHD, and that their sleepiness/wakefulness was unpredictable.
Adults with ADHD hyperactivity symptoms experienced the most unstable and delayed circadian rhythm activity. This included less time asleep while in bed and greater instances of waking up after falling asleep.
The scientists found that the adults with ADHD had poorer executive function performance compared to the non-ADHD adults, but that this difference was not influenced by sleep quality.
A similar result was found for emotional symptoms. While the ADHD adults reported higher levels of emotional dysregulation, there appeared to be no relationship between sleep and emotional symptoms in the adult ADHD participants.
So what? Little Birdie’s Thoughts
Adults with ADHD seem to have more delayed and unstable circadian rhythms but it’s still unclear why this is the case. Is this a biological difference, or is it due to unhealthy sleep habits that adults with ADHD may be more likely to engage in, such as nighttime video game sessions?
Based on other existing research, it seems like adults with ADHD do have different circadian rhythms, but it isn’t as big of a problem than we might think. This is because adults with ADHD appear to accommodate for their differences.
If they’re night owls, they go to bed later and wake up later. If they get poor sleep, they compensate with naps. This accommodation and compensation strategy would help explain why the scientists did not find a relationship between sleep quality and cognitive function in the ADHD adults.
While these results are interesting, they should be interpreted with caution. As always, one study cannot prove or disprove anything. In this study, I found it concerning that they included people with other psychiatric conditions in the ADHD group. It is understandable, as finding a purely ADHD sample is tough, but adding this variability does decrease our confidence in the results.
Further, there was a huge age range for the ADHD group compared to the non-ADHD group. In the ADHD group they included both younger, middle-aged, and older adults, whose sleep experiences and ADHD symptoms may vastly differ. Again, this introduces lots of variability that can affect the confidence of the results.
The Takeaway
If you have ADHD, maybe be kinder to yourself for your night owl ways! Work around your biological clock, not against it. As well, consider improving your overall sleep health, such as restricting screen use one hour before bed. You can also consider attempting to help regulate your wakefulness by increasing your light exposure in the morning, either with the blinds pulled up or with a HappyLight.
Alt text: Infographic titled “Adult ADHD & Sleep: Unraveling the Night Owl Rhythm.” It details a 10-day study comparing ADHD adults to non-ADHD controls, showing that ADHD adults have more erratic sleep and “Night Owl” tendencies. It highlights that ADHDers actively use compensation strategies—like napping and shifting schedules—rather than just suffering, and concludes with actionable tips: self-acceptance, working with your biological clock, limiting screens, and getting morning light.
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