Most neurodivergent people sleep like neurotypical people; however autistic and ADHD people can struggle more with the process of getting to sleep and staying asleep.

A dysregulated nervous system, which is common in people who have mental health disorders or are neurodivergent, can cause unstable sleep.

People who have autism and ADHD, commonly referred to as AuDHD, are not often recognised in standard sleep advice. For over 30 years, clinicians had to pick either ADHD or autism when diagnosing a person, meaning that help for the other got missed. While the two disorders have similarities, when it comes to sleep they can be very different.

While the autistic side often wants:

• Sameness, predictability, routine
• Deep focus on one thing
• Quiet, low input
• To plan and prepare
• Sensory avoidance
• To recover alone

The ADHD side often wants:

• Novelty, stimulation, change
• Many things at once
• Volume, movement, intensity
• To start and improvise
• Sensory seeking
• To connect, then collapse

This can make sleeping complicated. ADHD and autism are both associated with different circadian timings (body clock) from the generic 9-5 that society follows. The sensory, social, mental, and emotional demands of the day can leave the nervous system feeling activated and unable to fully settle at bedtime, meaning for many AuDHD people the nervous system can take longer to shift from being alert and switched on into a calmer, more settled state ready for rest and sleep.

These years of misunderstanding, criticism, and failed attempts at sleep create their own bedtime activation. A lot of AuDHD people think “I’m difficult” when it comes to sleep, but in fact the reality is that your nervous system processes the world and the body differently and interoceptive uncertainty is common.

Interoception is the perception of internal body signals – hunger, tiredness, pain, heart rate, temperature, level of arousal etc. In AuDHD people, these internal cues can be missed or harder to interpret.

Signals needed for sleep include:

• Tiredness/sleepiness
• Muscle relaxation
• Dropping temperature
• Slower heart rate
• Reduced urgency/hunger

Internal body signals in AuDHD people get sent, but they don’t register clearly, meaning that sleep signals can look like:

• Tiredness that is not noticed until it’s extreme
• Hunger, thirst or pain keeping the body activated
• Arousal or panic is hard to distinguish from ‘normal’ levels
• Restlessness or tension is not identified in the body

• Understand what tired means to you
• Learn signal-recognition, not just sleep hygiene
• Strategies that prioritise tour body over your mind are more effective
• Hunger and thirst checks before bed can make a real difference
• Practice body scanning, a meditative practice that can calm the body and mind

If you're looking for support on your sleep or neurodiversity, join a Community that gets it. The ADHD Sleep Club is more than a place to learn about sleep, it’s a space to feel seen, supported, and part of something bigger. We’re building a growing community of people who understand how ADHD shapes rest, energy, and everyday life.

By joining, you’ll get access to evolving resources, workshops, and lived experience shared in real time. You’ll find shared language, encouragement, and stories that remind you you’re not navigating this alone.