Sleep is very important with ADD or ADHD
It makes a difference. For one thing, if I don’t get enough sleep, my memory gets even worse. So I have medicines to help me sleep, melatonin for sleep and gabapentin (Neurontin) for the restless legs (RLS).
Did you know that there’s a high correlation between ADD ADHD and RLS?
The medicines usually work, especially if I do my stretches too, so I usually get a good nights sleep.
Unfortunately, the medicines have a bad effect on my memory.
Question o the Day:
Any suggestions?
Doug
Quote o the Day:
“You can’t win, you can’t break even, and you can’t get out of the game.”
Bonus quote:
“There is an old joke about people with ADHD having two kinds of time:
Now and Not Now.”
Dr. Hallowell from Melissa Orlov
Links:
More of my posts:
Sleep Disorder?
To Sleep or Not to Sleep; That is the Question?
ADD and Sleep
Nearly bedtime – time for another interesting night!
ADDadultstrategies 
I also take melatonin every night. I stopped for a while but I noticed my insomnia was worse. It doesn’t make a huge difference but it does help. I always joke that it takes me 10 hours in bed to get 7 or 8 hours of sleep. I can’t get to sleep but once I get to sleep, I’m usually okay. Thankfully my husband is the opposite so my tossing and turning doesn’t bother him.
I had no idea RLS and ADHD were related. I have RLS, too. It’s not bad every night, thank goodness, but when it is, it keeps me awake.
LikeLike
homey – RLS can be pretty miserable, worse i think than just plain insomnia
thanks for your comment.
BUT – i am stilll not getting your posts????
doug
LikeLike
I can relate to this post and the comments. From personal experience I have learned to recognize what medication (and caffeinated beverages) are correlated with my ability to go to sleep at an appropriate time. Too often I have taken Ambien to counter not only my anxiousness at night but also medication I have taken during the day. If you think your ADHD medication is interfering with your ability to fall asleep at an appropriate time at night or may be keeping you in too shallow of sleep, try this at RxSim.com. First this comment is not an ad for some gimmick, also there are no obligations. On an short form, you will be asked what medication you take, when you take it, and your observations for two days which in this case roughly what time do you manage to fall asleep and what is the quality of sleep. By simulating the properties of the drug and your notes, you will receive a video graphic that might give you insights into the relationship between medication and your observations (the good and the bad). All rxsim wants in return is to know if you gained any insights or was there any value in having this information. Again, there is nothing to buy. http://bit.ly/1r9z8tZ
LikeLiked by 1 person
louis- thank you for the suggestion. I checked it out and it looks legitimate, think i had heard of it before. unfortunately, it looks a little too detailed/complicated for me personally (ADD).
thank you for the comment
doug
LikeLike
angel- thanks! i will try it.
doug
LikeLike
Of course, I am reading this at 10:57 pm. I should be in bed, but I got wrapped up in catching up on my reading and emails. What a timely post. So, because I know how horrible my memory is without enough sleep, I will take your advice and mosey off to bed. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
angel – sleep, exercise, structure – that’s the foundation, but sometimes i forget.
thank you for commenting
doug
LikeLike
I use melatonin too, but not every night because when I do it loses its effectiveness. After reading the following article, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/putting-insomnia-on-ice/ , I also tried sleeping with ice packed around part of my head. It worked for a couple of weeks then lost its effectiveness. It helps with migraine though. I suffer from parasomnia (night terrors etc), which RLS comes under the banner of, I believe. Do you know if there is a high correlation between ADD, ADHD and Parasomnia? Or is it just RLS? TIA
LikeLiked by 1 person
marbles – good tip! like a lot of other meds, need to skip some nights. thanks
ice???? can’t imagine, and know my wife would’nt go for it.
don’t think RLS and night terrors are connected, quite different i think
“My oldest daughter had night terrors that would wake me from a dead sleep everytime. In the morning she would not remember what happened during the nightmare. Finally one day she told me that it was a monster. That night we decided to experiment. As she was falling asleep I imprinted a thought into her head. We began with repeating “No monster can harm me”. No luck. Then out of trial and error I began telling her that if she handed the monster a flower that the monster would turn nice. Amazingly this comment worked. She is now 21 and still has the dream that would once wake her with screams but she said that she still gives the monster a flower and it becomes nice.”
this is related to ‘lucid dreaming’ i think, decide what to do before you go to sleep.
i dint find a connection with ADHD in a short search
best wishes and thanks for commenting
doug
Reply With Quote
LikeLike
I’m not sure about night terrors, but I get restless leg syndrome–I will lay on my stomach and raise a leg, then let it drop loudly and firmly into the mattress. I only know this because my husband tells me about it. I also grind my teeth sometimes. The sleep study doctor told me that these are symptoms of Parasomnia that may or may not be linked to ADHD. There are few–if any–sleep studies on ADHD. At least that’s what the doc told me 3 years ago. I was told that these symptoms would occur less frequently with a regular sleep pattern–and at least 7 hours of sleep every night. I do have them less often when I drink Valerian root tea.
LikeLiked by 2 people
angel- thanks for the information. I’m really not up on all this. I do find that stretching the achilles tendon before bed helps a little, and for me it’s important not to have any caffeine or alcohol after 8 pm.
as always, thank you for commenting
doug
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doug,
Valerian root is a natural herb often used as a sleep aid. It’s non caffeinated. I recommend Sleepy Time Extra if you have never had Valerian root before–it’s minty chamomile tea with Valerian root extract. I order my Valerian tea online though. I need the extra strength of it because of the insomnia–which is definitely ADHD related.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your reply Angelique! I don’t grind my teeth, but I clench. It’s interesting to see similar, additional symptoms ADD/ADHD people experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person