Paul Jacobson

3 of my favourite blog posts about adult ADD

Adult ADD can be a tricky condition to have and talk about. I think the biggest challenge is the stigma of being ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder – often lumped in with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), followed by a personal acceptance that you have it and the willingness to do something about it.

I was diagnosed about 2 years ago and I wish I found out sooner. Accepting the diagnosis and starting medication for it transformed my life. I am impressed that I managed to achieve as much as I did before my diagnosis! I am still learning more about the condition today, mostly through other people’s experiences.

Tamaryn Shepherd has written pretty openly about her journey in her posts “On Adulting With ADD” and “On Adult ADD: 5 Things I Want Non-ADD People To Know“. Another great post is Michelle Lewsen’s post titled “9 Things People Say to People with ADHD“. I love these posts because I can identify with them and laugh at my quirks at the same time.

If you are curious about adult ADD, read these posts. If you have adult ADD, definitely read them before you get distracted!

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4 responses to “3 of my favourite blog posts about adult ADD”

  1. Tim Keller avatar
    Tim Keller

    @pauljacobson Useful posts, thanks! Diagnosed 4 years ago and haven’t looked back.

    Reply
  2. Tim Keller avatar
    Tim Keller

    likes this.

    Reply
  3. Paul Jacobson avatar
    Paul Jacobson

    @timkeller you’re welcome!

    Reply
  4. Paul avatar
    Paul

    As it happens, I am a morning person. Our son definitely is. My wife isn’t a morning person at all and we’re not sure whether our daughter is, yet.Whether you are a morning person or not, it apparently has a lot to do with genetics. Brian Resnick delves into why this is the case on Vox in his article titled “Late sleepers are tired of being discriminated against. And science has their back”.

    A couple of weeks ago, I reported on the science of chronobiology, which finds we all have an internal clock that keeps us on a consistent sleep and wake cycle. But the key finding is that everyone’s clock is not the same. Most people fall in the middle, preferring to sleep around 11 pm to 7 am. But many — perhaps 40 percent of the population — don’t naturally fit in this schedule.

    It turns out that this is also very much a cultural issue with the expectation being that people who are not morning people are somehow slackers. I didn’t think about it in those terms, probably because I tend to function better in the mornings (at least, once I’ve taken my meds).
    Watch this Vox video titled “Late sleeper? Blame your genes” that accompanies Resnick’s article, perhaps with coffee while you wake up.
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuCYyKJ0-X0?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=700&h=424%5D
    On a related note, it also turns out that so-called “coffee naps” are great ways to recharge during the day. I tend to nap for around 20 minutes and will do that if I have an opportunity because it works well for me.
    Apparently, a cup of coffee right before a 20 minute nap could be just the thing you need to recharge and return to a much more productive state. According to Vox:

    It’s counterintuitive, but scientists agree that drinking coffee before napping will give you a stronger boost of energy than either coffee or napping alone. To understand a coffee nap, you have to understand how caffeine affects you. After it’s absorbed through your small intestine and passes into your bloodstream, it crosses into your brain. There, it fits into receptors that are normally filled by a similarly shaped molecule called adenosine. Adenosine is a byproduct of brain activity, and when it accumulates at high enough levels, it plugs into these receptors and makes you feel tired. But with the caffeine blocking the receptors, it’s unable to do so. Here’s the trick of the coffee nap: sleeping naturally clears adenosine from the brain. So if you nap for those 20 minutes, you’ll reduce your levels of adenosine just in time for the caffeine to kick in. The caffeine will have less adenosine to compete with, and will thereby be even more effective in making you alert.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaI5LWj6ams?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=700&h=424%5D
    So, if you’re ever accused of being lazy or slacking off because you’re not a morning person or because you just want to have a quick nap and recharge, there is a body of science backing you up!
    If you’re curious, also watch “How does caffeine keep us awake?“.
    Image credit: Hernan Sanchez

    Reply

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