This week's ADHD Solution is: Sleep.

You know on some level that it’s important to get enough sleep. But are you aware how closely sleep deprivation and ADHD symptoms are related? Here are some of the nasty things sleep deprivation can cause:

• Shorter attention span
• Reduced concentration
• Increased forgetfulness
• More frequent mistakes
• Increased moodiness and temper
• Slower reaction time
• Impaired judgment
• Impaired ability to make decisions
• Loss of motivation

Sounds a lot like ADHD, doesn’t it? Sleep deprivation has been shown to affect executive functioning in the prefrontal cortex, which is the same region of the brain associated with ADHD. So it makes sense that the symptoms are the same.

Here are some suggestions to help you get enough sleep:

• Make the choice. Deciding to do the right thing is the first step. Remember why sleep is important.
• Develop a regular bedtime. You’ll be able to fall asleep more easily once your body and mind have been conditioned to sleep at a certain time.
• Start winding down about 30-60 minutes before bedtime.
• Don’t exercise late at night. The endorphins will keep you awake.
• Use relaxation techniques to help you fall asleep. Meditation and relaxation CDs can be helpful. Or try a cup of chamomile tea.
• Don’t keep the TV or computer in your bedroom. They’re too tempting.
• Don’t smoke or drink caffeinated beverages after lunchtime.
• Don’t take naps.
• Make your bedroom more conducive to sleep. Use room darkening shades, make it as soundproof as possible, and reduce the clutter.
• Get professional help for sleep disorders.
• If medications are causing insomnia, talk with your doctor about it.

Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on your ADHD tendencies. Don’t underestimate the damage it can do.

www.adhdsolutions.net

Glutenfrei leben für Dummies

http://books.google.at/books?id=hQ6PN_39uOMC&lpg=PA52&dq=adhd%20for%20dummies&pg=PA52#v=onepage&q&f=false

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies

http://books.google.at/books?id=7eHHDm3IbQIC&lpg=PA63&dq=adhd%20for%20dummies&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Gluten-Free Cooking for Dummies

http://books.google.at/books?id=bZpXE-zycV0C&lpg=PA174&dq=adhd%20for%20dummies&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

This week's ADHD Solution is: Don't set it down.

How many times have you lost something because you set it down somewhere, and then forgot where you left it? Losing things is a classic ADHD challenge. We’re in the middle of doing something, get distracted, and drop what we’re doing. Or holding. We don’t even notice it until we realize the item is missing.

The solution? Don’t set it down. If you’re walking in the door with bags of groceries and your phone rings, don’t put your keys down to answer it. Keep them in your hand or loop the key ring around a finger. TV remote perpetually lost? Keep it in your hand, on your lap, or in its place. Nowhere else. Frequently kick off your shoes at the end of the day, then can’t find them in the morning? Walk to the closet and take them off there, or designate a place for shoes by the door. Always leaving your purse at restaurants? Set it on your foot under the table.

The secret to not losing things is to never set them down where they don’t belong. Hold on to them – literally – until you can put them away. Condition yourself to believe that setting something down is like dropping it into a black hole. You don’t know when or if you’ll ever see it again.

Yes, there will be exceptions. The baby starts shrieking and you’d rather throw the keys into that black hole than delay her rescue by even ten seconds. Your second best bet is to tell yourself – out loud – where you are putting the item. “I’m putting the keys here on the end table.” Using two senses helps us remember things better.

Like any other habit you’re trying to develop, this will take practice. The first step is to work on becoming aware of when you are about to set something down. Then remember that black hole. The rest will follow.

www.adhdsolutions.net

Feed Your Brain

As more and more research is confirming, the ADDer has unique dietary needs that, if ignored, magnify our ADD demons. But properly feeding our unique brain goes beyond food to include the right amounts of exercise and rest.

Four cardinal rules for the ADDer diet are 1) Sugar is bad, 2) Carbs Kill, 3) Protein is Power, and 4) Omegas are Mega. They’re pretty self-explanatory, but brief details on each to follow. Meantime, cut out the sugar, reduce simple carbs, up the protein intake and get some Krill Oil supplements (Omega-3s)!

Sugar is bad because it jacks up your blood glucose briefly, giving you a spurt of mental energy, but then dissipates just as fast, leaving your brain in the gutter and jonesing for more sugar like a two-bit junkie. Twinkies no more. You CAN’T have your cake and eat it, too. And watch out for hidden sugars – in cereals, “healthy” juices, etc.

Carbs Kill because they TURN INTO sugar, and we already know how much Sugar is bad. Now, not all carbs are created equal: complex carbs are safe – whole grain breads/cereal, brown rice, yams, veggies, seeds and nuts. But steer clear of simple carbs -- WHITE foods, which are often processed and useless to the ADDer brain.

Protein is Power because it actually triggers alertness-inducing neurotransmitters that help us focus. Get quality proteins from fish, lean meat, beans, eggs, dairy and protein drinks or powders. And if you use protein drinks/powders, make sure they’re not loaded with sugar, cuz, right -- Sugar is bad!

Omegas are Mega! Essential fatty acids like omega-3s and -6s found in cold-water fish can improve brain function/memory. So get more of these with fish or krill oil supplements pronto. To get both omegas AND protein, put walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts and sardines on your grocery list. Do it now!

Harvard doc John Ratey says, “Exercise stimulates a brain chemical that acts like Miracle-Grow for the brain.” Yep. When blood is pumpin’ and sweat is drippin’ your brain’s crankin’ out ADD-crushin’ chemicals. Any exercise is great, but you only benefit from VIGOROUS exercise: e.g., at least 20 minutes of cardio. Now get out and walk/run/cycle!

ADDers have the unique ability to get all wired up at night – no matter how tired -- and all wound down in the day when we should be alert. Gotta strike a healthy relationship with sleep, the third key brain feeder, cuz the less sleep we get, the weaker our brain and the more our ADD demons run the show.

Sleep tips - *No sugar/caffeine after 5pm *No media less than an hour b4 bed (TV, checking emails are like CAFFEINE when done near bedtime. It’s not relaxing, IT GEARS YOU UP) *Protein snack – e.g. cottage cheese – a couple hours before bed *Consistent pre-bedtime ritual – whether bath, book or meditating, it signals to your body/mind, it’s time…to wind…down.

tbc

This week's ADHD Solution is: The SOP.

It’s fun to figure stuff out. Re-figuring out the same thing for the third or fourth time? Not so much. It’s extremely frustrating when you know you’ve done something before, but you can’t remember how you did it. I think people with ADHD encounter this more often than the average person. And man! Is it ever annoying.

I just finished getting ready for my year-end meeting with my accountant. (High five, anyone, for being over a month early?) As a small business owner, my taxes are somewhat complicated. But this year’s preparation was substantially easier than it used to be. Why? Because two years ago, I had the foresight to create an SOP for myself.

SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedure. They’re used in business, industry, and the army to describe any procedure that gets done in a certain way. An SOP is basically a cheat sheet that lists the sequence of steps. It removes all the guesswork. There’s no job too big or too small for an SOP. They can be created for anything. How to process payroll. All the things you review with your child after school. What you need to do in the morning, or before bed.

Following an SOP is easy. Writing one isn’t too hard either – just jot down the steps as you complete them. It doesn’t have to be pretty. The trick is being able to find the right one when you need it, and keeping it updated when things change. Some companies create manuals and keep them on a shelf. That makes me itch! The problem with that approach is that the SOPs don’t get updated when the procedures inevitably change. Once they’re out of date, they’re worse than useless, because they’re wrong. Better to store and access them electronically. You can create word processing documents, or use something like Microsoft Outlook tasks, which is what I do. I created a separate task folder that contains nothing but SOPs. I like putting them all in one place to make keyword searches easier (handy when you can’t remember if you created an SOP in the first place, much less what you might have called it). So today, all I had to do was go into my SOP folder and search for “taxes”. I had my cheat sheet in less than a second. I think my accountant will be pleased again this year!

What recurring projects do you struggle to remember how to do? Create SOPs as you work through them. It’ll be much easier next time. And, you won’t forget any important steps.

www.adhdsolutions.net