Let's Talk About S, Baby

Jul 24, 2026

Let’s talk about you and me

Let’s talk about all the good things

And the bad things that may be

Let’s talk abooouuuut

Sleep 😏

What do you mean, false advertising? Seriously though, let’s talk about sleep. I know it is the least sexy topic I usually talk about (much more sexyless than getting older and sucking at life, ahem), but it is incredibly important for us ADHDers. And that is because our executive functions, the cognitive processes that essentially help us do the opposite of procrastination, enjoy throwing tantrums as much as a tired three-year-old.

Executive functions are essentially the canary in the coal mine: they ~~fuck off~~ yield the second you are:

Sleep deprived
Physically unfit
Stressed
Sad
Lonely

So that’s obviously a Shit Soirée for us, seeing as ADHDers often sleep like shrews, have trouble sticking to a workout routine, and experience higher levels of stress, depression and loneliness.

Here’s the weird part for me - if the vast majority of us have “hyperactive traits”… why isn’t our body demanding we do something with it physically? Exercise is an excellent stress soother, plus it improves sleep and even tackles depressive symptoms. I mean, wouldn’t that be nice?

Let’s move on from Observations In An Unjust World, and have a look at…

My 3 strategies to get better sleep

There are loads of them around, but seeing as I am preparing for a trip to celebrate my 40th birthday this week, I simply don’t have the time to go over many of them. So I figured I’d stick to the ones that helped me the most.

^exerciseexercise _exerciseexercise ^exercise.
I am of the “body can be used as a crowbar” stressed garden variety of ADHDer, so to say it has done wonders for my general stress levels and, by extension, my sleep is the understatement of the century. Things I have tried and would recommend:
- Muay Thai and other martial arts: there is nothing like kicking the shit out of a punching bag or trainer to make you feel Zen. Possibly because when you have zero energy left 10 minutes into the session, everything else nopes the fuck out (including your brain).
- A mix of weight training and cardio at the gym: when I’m at the gym I bounce from machine to machine, which both keeps it interesting and helps me to get rid of all the aforementioned crowbar energy.
Sleep hygiene.
Up until a few years ago I would scrollety-scroll all the way through horrible news, toxic people and dumb but exciting stuff to 1 AM, decide I need to go to bed “for real this time”, and then lie awake because of said news, toxic people and dumb but exciting stuff. Get up - feel exhausted - evening scroll - rinse - repeat. I finally installed an app blocker on my phone, created a soothing evening routine for myself that didn’t involve scrolling my way into anxiety, and hey presto! I became the proud owner of a normalish sleep schedule.
Magnesium glycinate.
This is something a dietitian I worked with for my perimenopause symptoms recommended, based on my blood tests. I take it every evening, because it helps my body and brain to relax. If you are interested in trying magnesium glycinate, two things:
- Always check with a dietitian or medical specialist before taking supplements, because they can be unsafe for people with certain conditions or medications and you can overdose on them.
- Be aware that magnesium can be a literal party pooper thanks to its Cyclospora-like effects. To put it more eloquently: it gave me the shits for a week. After that I was fine, but every body responds differently.