meds good or bad for sleep? | ADHD Information

I am currently not taking any meds for ADHD but still trying to get properly dx'd an treated. Right now, I go to sleep naturally around 11pm-12am, sometimes even 1am, and if I sleep less than 10-12 hours it's like dragging myself out of the hospital bed after waking up from anesthesia (for lack of a better description). I don't want to go to the other extreme and have insomnia if/when I start taking a stimulant. Do the meds always cause insomnia, or is it just in the beginning? I read a few posts that sounded to me like the meds can actually helpyou sleep, is that only true if you have the hyperactivity (I am most likely inattentive-type)Do my problems with sleeping so much and having trouble waking up earlier than 1 in the afternoon have to do with ADD? If meds don't help, what will? I can't just sleep half my life away.

Sometimes the meds help people with ADHD sleep by calming the mind. Some adults even take a later dose to help start sleep. My daughter never went to sleep well until she started meds (she always said her mind was too busy to sleep).

The thing to watch out for is the time period when the meds are leaving your body. This time period can be difficult as the body adjusts to the premedicated state and trying to go to sleep during this time can be difficult. I have read where people either take the med early enough to pass this period before bedtime or keep meds in the system until after bedtime.

If you can get more restful sleep, you might not need as much as you are currently needing.

This is very individual so you will have to try it out.

vickie39108.3475694444mm..if you take stimulants (such as adderall xr) they'll wear off before you go to bed. and they help you get more deep sleep since they actually help you use your brain to a higher energy level and then you're more tired. that's what i've noticed on mine, atleast.I am on the "Dexies" which have a definite calming effect, i feel much more relaxed and can tackle life better, but i cannot sleep whilst they are in my system.

I am much quieter and not restless at all when the meds are in my system at bedtime, but i cannot actually fall asleep! (Although i do feel rested). If i go to bed without any form of medication at all i thrash around in bed for ages (even hours) without even looking like sleeping and actually get agitated because i cannot settle down. The only way i can sleep for any length of time (usually 4 hours or so) is to take something that will effectively "Knock me out" so i get some relief.  I take Catapres which although is not giving me much more than the 4 hours i do feel more rested and actually have a better sense of whats happening around me during the day, and i don't get as agitiated either! I also indulge in other types of "self medication" at night to get sleep. I would love to be able to just go to bed without having to drug myself up each night. I have been like this since leaving school. I am now 36.

As for the ADHD meds making it harder to sleep. . . .

No simple answer, some people it allows them to sleep like most other people, for others it does the opposite. You won't know until you have commenced the meds. As others have said - just make sure you don't "bounce" around bed time. Take the last tab at least 4 hours before bed if you don't want it to effect sleep, or take one around 20-30 mins before bed if you wish to sleep with the meds. You'll just have to experiment with it until the right combo is reached.

Hope this helps.
Anybody who cant sleep good should just take a melotonin 1mg pill. Works like a charm laddie! Just time it right because its a very natural non drowsy tired feeling that you can easily miss if your not already laying down with your eyes closed. this takes about 30 mins for me.


PS. Any more than 1mg for me and it tends to wake me up pretty early around 5am. But thats just me.