Insomnia and ADHD —Is There a Link?

Insomnia and Attention-Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder are both serious illnesses that anyone could develop. While fundamentally different, there have been instances where both have been linked through several different common factors between them. Before we dive into why these two are often linked together, let’s first look at what these diseases are and how they affect a person.  

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, is a neuro developmental condition that several people around the world deal with every day. This condition might affect the way a person responds to and performs certain tasks. It also affects the overall behavior of a person.

While some people react more hyperactively, others might not be active enough. While detecting symptoms of ADHD is fairly easy, most people go undiagnosed for years. Some of its common symptoms include impulse control, hyperactivity, or inattentiveness.

On the other hand, insomnia occurs when a person faces difficulty in falling asleep, or staying asleep. The neuro-typical condition affects a person’s sleeping abilities, which then causes other health complications, including weight gain and loss, functional impairments, anxiety and depression.

Circadian Rhythm

What we refer to as the body’s biological clock, often gets affected by ADHD and its symptoms. This makes it difficult for the body to realize that it needs rest. This often causes long periods of sleeplessness– often developing prolonged insomnia.

Time Blindness

People with ADHD often don’t have the concept of time passing by. This is called time blindness; due to this condition, individuals are unable to realize that it is time to unwind and fall asleep. These individuals remain hyper-focused even during times they should be resting. They don’t realize how much time has passed since they haven’t slept, or even realize that their bodies are tired.

Cognitive Hyper arousal

Falling asleep requires that we put our brains to rest, before we can make our body give in. However, people with ADHD often have hyperactive brains. This makes it difficult for them to sleep even at night, or focus enough to get their mind to rest for a bit.

Hypnosis can help people with insomnia fall asleep, and put their minds at rest. If you’re someone who is looking for some peace of mind, get in touch with us at Blossom Hypnosis. Our expert Rekha holds in-person and online sessions for people who can benefit from her services.