And… I’m back. It’s been a tough two weeks. Have I mentioned how painful writing is? It’s really like pulling teeth. Getting my wisdom teeth out was a breeze compared to this! But I write so you can get to know me and hopefully gain some valuable information. But yeah, it’s not that I haven’t been writing, I just haven’t published. That’s because my writing has been, well, crap. Courtney even took a look at a post draft at some point over the last week or so and said it was the most ADHD thing she’s ever seen me write. Just paragraph after paragraph of new and different disconnected ideas. So it goes. I guess I’ve just got a ton to say and lots of upcoming posts.

Courtney was right though, it was a bit frantic and scattered and totally disorganized, and I could feel it. ADHD can be a very physical sensation… at least for me. I could tell I needed to make some changes, and I’m glad to report, with good effect. I really couldn’t go on like that, because the blog and my business were being affected. So what I want to do for you all is share what I did, what worked and what maybe didn’t along the way.

This week, I’ve got a three part series that gives an in-depth look at how I have done and what I’ve learned about making mornings rock! Here’s what is in the pipe:

Today

I’m going to talk all about sleep and how getting enough changed my world.

Wednesday

I’ll give a run-down on my breakfasts and how food is majorly important for the ADHD brain.

Thursday

I’ve got an article full of ADHD productivity tips, and I’ll fill you in on how I am hacking my own brain, to get the most out of it.

Here goes!

Sleep

The morning is what starts your day.

Funny, right? But really the morning is what sets the tone for the rest of the day, especially for ADHDers like me. Why? Because we generally (by generally I mean 11 times out of ten) have little to no set schedule or routine. We might crave it and yearn for organization or structure in our lives. I really love having a wife that keeps a calendar and knows what needs to get done each day. Personally, I have always wished for that sweet sweet day when I can make a prioritized list of “things I need to do tomorrow” and then actually do them in that order the following day. You might say, “What’s the big deal, Jay? You can’t?” It’s really not a matter of can’t. Well, it is, but… It’s more like the list – instead of being an anchor to organize my brain (aka writhing mass of octopus tentacles) – simply becomes another leaf in the wind, another ball to drop, and another stress to manage. Not a soothing loadstone! AND, I’m rambling…

The number one way to make it a good morning and have a sick beginning to your day is to get enough rest at night. Adult ADHD is the worst, but at least we can have an impact on our symptoms simply by sleeping enough. For many of us, sleep is our last priority, mostly because at night we are just getting warmed up. The TV is on, your laptop is open surfing something, and you’re going between texting a friend and playing a game on your cell phone. Or if you’re really in the zone, you’re working, burning through a Redbull, cranking out your article for tomorrow, researching for your next one, while keeping up with the election coverage via Twitter, and thinking about the next house, boat, or car you want to buy. Why would I ever want that to end?

Simple Answer

A night like that might be a lot of fun, but it’s damaging to your work performance the next morning, and that’s what really matters. Most of us do stay up late, and we drag through the first half of the workday, scramble for lunch and have one to two hours of wakeful sobriety, before crashing the rest of the day, and crawling out of the office to join the evening commute. And we go along like this. In the short term, this is really not a problem behavior, but carried out over time, we are going to be screwed.

People always ask, “How much sleep is enough?” Good question. I bet you’re not getting as much as Roger Federer or Lebron James. Both get as much as 12 hours a night! What!?! Listen, everyone needs a different amount, but if these guys are killing it on the court, performing at the absolute peak of their sports, then I’m paying attention. Plus, I would expect that if you are experiencing major ADHD symptoms, you’re not getting enough for you. So get more!

Show Me the Data!

The data behind this is crazy! In a study that reduced subjects’ sleep to 4-5 hours a night for only two nights, they found 3X the increase in lapses in attention and reactivity. Another study found that cognitive performance with 6 hours of sleep was the same as not sleeping for 48 hours! Significantly, these were not ADHD studies. They were with “normals!” But it’s not all about negatives of lack of sleep. Getting more sleep has been shown to have a ton of positive cognitive benefits. For instance it has been shown to improve split-second decision making (a la ADHD) by 4.3%. Plus it can replenish your brain cells (increased neuron myelination) and can also improve creativity and problem solving. Swimmers who got more sleep than usual improved their reaction times off the starting blocks by 17%! Check out this infographic from Fatigue Science.