Whether you’re a parent or partner of someone with ADHD, or a child or adult with ADHD yourself, the holidays are over.
For some, it’s a relief, and for others, it’s a new challenge starting all over again.
So here are a few routine tips for starting the new year off right:
Get back to a sleep routine that suits your needs.
Indeed, everyone needs restorative sleep to recover from the day’s stimulation.
Even more so for someone with ADHD, who is over-stimulated.
What’s more, dopamine, the hormone of pleasure and motivation, is already in short supply in people with ADHD.
If they don’t get enough sleep, that dopamine deficit becomes even greater, and the difficulty in getting through the day’s various tasks becomes even greater too.
Sleeping at fixed times and for a reasonable duration is essential for good mental and emotional health (between 8 and 13 hours depending on the child’s age, and around 8 hours of sleep for adults).
A routine for the day’s schedule.
Break down precisely the times for going to bed, getting up, getting dressed, washing, etc., to make it easier to head off to school or work and avoid being late. Indeed, someone with ADHD tends to daydream in the morning or evening and lose time carrying out daily rituals.
The ideal is to set a precise time, duration, and tasks to complete, to help establish a routine that will make everyone’s preparations simpler.
Over the holidays, screen time limits tend to loosen a bit; it’s now time to go back to fixed times and moments for time spent in front of a screen.
For several reasons:
– The stimulation caused by screens is neither necessary nor helpful for someone with ADHD, as you know.
– Time spent in front of a screen is time not spent on things that absolutely need to get done (homework, showering, meals, sleep, work tasks…).
So it’s important to fit this screen time back into the timing of daily routines (or remove it… but let’s be realistic…) or turn it into a source of reward that boosts motivation for people with ADHD.
Reconnecting with friends, colleagues or teachers helps recreate the reference points needed to ease feelings of awkwardness, confusion or loneliness that could otherwise reduce motivation in someone with ADHD.
If any Ritalin treatment was paused over the holidays, remember to work it back into the daily routine too.
WARNING! Taking this medication irregularly can cause side effects, and if the break from medication was long, patience will be needed to readjust to the treatment.
As you’ll have understood, the daily life of someone with ADHD, whether child or adult, is made easier by setting up routines or daily rituals, to significantly reduce everyone’s sources of stress, anxiety and irritability.
Establishing a routine is a key tool for managing ADHD, and it isn’t always easy to find the right habits suited to each individual.
If you’ve never managed to set up these routines, or you’ve tried without success, it’s likely because there are beliefs, motivations or demands that are difficult for you to calibrate on your own. It’s always worth getting support from a professional to help set up these routines, because it’s not always easy to find effective habits that fit, so that these routines last and become automatic.
I wish you all a very good start to the school and work year, and above all, don’t wait to improve your daily life.
See you soon, and take care of yourselves!
MURIEL D
FAMILY COACH, ADHD EXPERT
