Is this when I’m locked in and hours disappear or when I’m trying to do something and stare off into the distance for 5-10 minutes?
Yes, probably.
edit: sorry, couldn’t resist
I would assume it’s not so much the hyperfocus as it is the latter - the spacing out a bit, since the article talks about periods of less focus while working.
Probably when I’m trying to do what I should be doing, but it’s boring as hell.
Unlocking in.
Brainwaves are one thing they measured when I got my second diagnosis (the first was questionnaire-based). I was told my theta waves (associated with sleep) are unusually high and my beta waves (thought & activity) low.
Understanding that hyperactivity is secondary to an underactivation of the brain in ADHD was very enlightening for me. Since then I’ve taken to napping whenever I feel tired instead of deathmarching through these phases whenever possible. Yes, it messes with my sleep schedule a little bit but it’s better than the alternative.
I tried to take my meds all in the morning instead of morning + noon. I’ve spent the last 2 weeks napping from middle afternoon to next morning 🫣
I wonder if that has something to do with why stimulants work to treat it. If having ADHD is like sleeping, and these pills keep you awake…
I’m sure I’m oversimplifying.
It all has to do with how the brain responds to and produces dopamine.
For example sleep deprivation alters dopamine receptors and signalling, which is thought to be one reason people feel temporarily “wired” or oddly alert after being very sleep-deprived.
I imagine it’s related to that.
There was a series of studies recently that showed that ADHD stimulants don’t work by giving you more dopamine. They work by making you more alert and awake.
I wonder if this is related to my anecdata regarding neurospicy folks like me and problems with consistent bedtimes. I know I so easily get my circadian rhythm completely fucked up if I allow myself a nap when I get sleepy - no matter how long or short the nap. It just ruins me for days and days.
I’m glad they’re finding some stuff they can actively track, though. For the longest time it seemed diagnosis was solely based on subjective testing. I’d really like to see some objective things - just to shut up the deniers, if nothing else.
anecdata
Oooh, I like this word. 🤣😜🤌🏼
Shamelessly stolen from many others :)
Well, that was a depressing read. Too much of it hit home. lol. Well, incredibly unsurprising, I think. Very good to see that - many many thanks <3
My sister, a physician’s assistant, openly wondered out loud if I have narcolepsy, so this checks out. My sleep is just shit lol.
Interesting I have a similar problem except it’s that I feel like I need to nap on the daily or it messes up everything for me.
Doesn’t matter if I nap or not though, I can’t go to bed early enough ever because I suck (and I like videogames too much and staying up late is how I can get alone time to play them).
I’ve heard of that phenomenon but I don’t remember what it’s called. But basically late night feels like the only “me” time we get so we delay going to bed because bed means jumping fast-forward to the next work day.
I view sleep as the finish to the day instead of the start of the next day like my partner told me he does. I thought about it for a minute after he said that bc it was so foreign to me, then I was like “then how do you ever feel rested?”
It seemed relevant when I started typing, but idk, I’m tired 😂
Makes sense to me :)
Interesting, now I wonder whether folks on the autism spectrum perhaps experience less sleep-like brain activity throughout the day. Might explain why meltdowns after stressful situations are a phenomenon, so in the sense that we can’t process it as we go.
I don’t have a diagnosis, I only score quite high on autism self-tests, but something I also experience is that the mental exhaustion seems to build up in the background over the course of an eventful day, and then in the evening when I’m home, it takes maybe half an hour before it feels like my brain is pushing against my skull in all directions and it becomes really difficult for me to take in new information.
I can also kind of work against those symptoms by meditating or perhaps rather not taking in new information for a few minutes. Naps don’t work as well, because it seems like blood circulation is vital for fighting off those symptoms, but I’m also just likely to fall into a really intense, yet not very deep, sleep for a few hours.
It kind of feels my brain caches everything it wants to retain throughout the day and then starts processing it in the evening all at once. And then as it’s processing it, it builds up something which needs to be transported off. The closest thing I’ve heard in that regard, is that mental exhaustion leads to a glutamate buildup: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2333230-why-thinking-hard-for-several-hours-can-leave-you-mentally-exhausted/
It does feel like an extreme version of mental exhaustion.And yeah, long story short, maybe others’ brains are able to start processing in the middle of the day, due to this sleep-like brain activity?
Could also be, though, that my social anxiety prevents me from doing this sleep-like brain activity.
I do also have a reputation for exceptionally good memory, so maybe my brain just caches the whole day, because it can. Or this intense post-processing is how it’s able to achieve the exceptional memory in the first place, which also seems very likely.This braindump brought to you in the middle of the night, after one of those multi-hour naps. My brain is still not done processing the day, but about 90% there. 🥴
Maybe this is why I have a two phase sleep cycle. To much stuff? Just sleep more! Thanks brain. Thanks body.
Had a theory it was something like this. I don’t always catch when I’m daydreaming or distracted by a thought. My wife calls it the <my_name> delay. It’s worse as I age. Sleep deprivation to a mild degree makes me more alert. But the debt catches up eventually.
Mood
My mother used to comment on intellectualism that you need someone to design the perfect arrowhead and curvature of a spear, but you also need someone who can actually put it in the mammoth (I also propose a third person who communicates well enough to get them to stop yelling at each other).
I think sleep schedules are the same though. You need people to do the gathering during the day, but you also need someone to watch for lions all night. I think I’m very thoroughly the latter. While it does take some doing and a little caffeine, I’m much happier and better adjusted sleeping during the day every day.
So relatable
Weird. Wonder if it’s tied into some sort dream related thing?
I know when I dream o seem to have ultra ADHD, nothing is consistent and I’m constantly moving from one subject to another and not able to focus on a single plot/conversation/idea etc
