You’re absolutely shattered.
You’ve been counting down to bedtime since lunchtime.
But now you’re lying there, wide awake, and your brain has decided this is the perfect time to have a full-blown strategy meeting about your entire life.
Not the useful kind either.
More like replaying that awkward thing you said eight years ago, suddenly wanting to reorganise the kitchen, or questioning your entire life plan at midnight.
Sound familiar?
You’re exhausted, but wired.
And no matter how much you want to sleep, your brain is doing its own thing.
ADHD and Sleep Problems: You’re Not Alone
So many of the clients I work with say the same thing:
“I’m tired all day… then come alive at night.”
It’s not just frustrating. It’s exhausting.
ADHD affects how the brain regulates time, energy, and stimulation. The very things that help most people slow down in the evening often don’t work in the same way for an ADHD brain.
By the time the house is quiet, and no one is asking anything of you, that’s often when your brain finally feels clear. And then it all arrives at once. Thoughts. Emotions. Ideas. Memories. Worries. Tasks.
It’s also common to feel a sudden urge to finish something you put off earlier, just so you can finally relax. That last push before rest is allowed is something I see often with ADHD and I can relate to this.
Why ADHD Brains Get Their Best Ideas Late at Night
You know those moments where everything suddenly makes sense while you’re in the shower?
That’s not a coincidence.
For many people with ADHD, the shower is one of the only places without a phone, without interruptions, and without constant demands. It’s one of the few times the brain gets space to breathe.
And when there’s space, ideas land.
I experience this myself. The late-night bursts of clarity, the unexpected motivation, the buzzing brain just when I should be winding down. It’s something I see not only in myself but also in many of the women I support through ADHD coaching.
ADHD, Delayed Sleep Phase and the Body Clock
There’s a reason this happens, and it isn’t bad habits or a lack of willpower.
Many people with ADHD experience delayed sleep phase, where the body clock naturally runs later than the rest of the world. While most people are winding down in the evening, the ADHD brain may still be ramping up.
Hormones play a role too. Cortisol, which helps regulate alertness and energy, can rise later in the day rather than easing off in the evening. This can leave you feeling physically exhausted but mentally alert.
Lower dopamine levels during the day can also mean that night-time becomes the only point where the brain feels clearer, more focused, or more motivated.
This isn’t a discipline problem. It’s biology.
If your nervous system has been in overdrive all day, managing, masking, and keeping up, it doesn’t simply switch off at bedtime. It’s still processing. Still running. Still holding onto all the tabs you forgot to close.
ADHD, Time-Blindness and Why Evenings Disappear
Sleep difficulties are closely linked to time-blindness, a common ADHD experience.
When your internal sense of time is unreliable, your brain doesn’t always register the day gently winding down. Everything feels much the same until suddenly it’s very late.
This is why evenings can disappear.
Why “just one more thing” becomes midnight.
Why rest often only happens once everything feels finished.
Your brain isn’t ignoring the clock. It’s struggling to feel time passing.
What Helps ADHD Sleep and Time-Blindness
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but things often improve when people stop fighting their brain and start working with it.
Supportive approaches can include giving yourself time to wind down before you’re completely exhausted, offloading thoughts earlier in the evening, and creating calming routines that actually suit your life rather than someone else’s idea of perfect sleep hygiene.
Letting go of guilt when your energy doesn’t match the clock can also make a real difference.
Some people find calming audio recordings helpful, particularly when sleep feels impossible and the mind won’t slow down. Gentle, soothing guidance can help the nervous system settle and signal to the body that it’s safe to rest.
I also explore this in more depth inside my Time Blindness module, where we look at how the ADHD brain experiences time and how to create gentle, realistic anchors throughout the day. When time feels less slippery, evenings often feel calmer too.
If time blindness plays a part in restless evenings, you might find my self-study Tackle Time-Blindness module helpful. It explores how the ADHD brain experiences time and how to create gentler anchors throughout the day.
ADHD, Sleep and Self-Compassion
Sleep, or the lack of it, comes up in my work all the time. Not just the broken nights, but the knock-on effects. Foggy mornings. Short fuses. The sense of being behind before the day has even started.
If this feels familiar, nothing is wrong with you.
Your brain is doing exactly what it was wired to do.
And with understanding, self-compassion, and the right kind of support, it doesn’t have to feel quite so hard.
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