Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors of Sleep Problems and Daytime Sleepiness in Young Adolescents with ADHD." And so this is a study that's investigating the high prevalence of sleep-related issues in adolescents with ADHD, and this paper is also trying to distinguish between, like, nighttime sleepiness disorders and daytime sleepiness. So the story here being that, hey, maybe ADHD might not be caused by poor sleep quality alone, but there are, like, strong links to other things like sluggish cognitive tempo, which we'll all get into. So how about that? Let's dive in.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/293

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

Today I'm talking with Jenna Free, a Master's-level Canadian Certified Counselor and ADHD coach, who focuses on polyvagal theory, which is to say, she helps people understand their nervous system. She works specifically with neurodivergent adults to move them out of the "fight, flight, or freeze" responses that make ADHD symptoms feel ten times heavier than they need to be.

In our conversation, we're moving past the usual "tips and tricks" to look at the biological hardware of the ADHD brain and, more specifically, on nervous system regulation. We discuss the mechanics of dysregulation, why we often use anxiety as a secondary motor, and how to identify when our bodies have been stuck in survival mode for so long that we've forgotten what "calm" actually feels like.

Be sure to check out Jenna's book The Simple Guide to ADHD Regulation: The Secret to Finding Balance, Getting Things Done, and Enjoying Your Life

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/292

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. It's important to recognize that dysregulation is a physical state where blood flow moves from the brain to the limbs to prepare for danger. When we are in fight, flight, or freeze, our ADHD symptoms are amplified because our brain's higher-level processing is offline in favor of survival.
   2. While it is easy to rely on anxiety and panic to provide the "urgency" needed to start tasks, this can create a "frantic-crash cycle" where we use future resources to survive the present. When we focus on regulation, it can allow us to find a "sweet spot" of motivation that is sustainable rather than explosive.
   3. People-pleasing is often a survival strategy intended to keep others regulated so that we feel safe. By recognizing that our safety doesn't actually depend on everyone else liking us, it allows us to stop over-committing and resenting our schedules.

Hey Team!

I've been thinking a lot about the idea that thinking about planning isn't the same thing as planning. When we're just thinking about planning, sure, we're imagining the steps, the obstacles, the finished results, but we often get stuck in the execution gap, where we think we know exactly what we need to do, but can't actually find a way of getting ourselves to do it.

We often view planning as this rigid, formal structure, a grand design that has to be perfect or it's not worth doing. But really, planning is just a gift for our future selves. It's about making decisions now so that the "future us," who is more than likely tired and overwhelmed, doesn't have to.

So today, we're going to look at the mechanics of how we build those plans. We'll talk about the hierarchy of goals, strategies, and tactics, and how we can stop letting the "shoulds" dictate how we spend our limited cognitive energy.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. That the "feel-good" sensation of visualizing a plan can actually be a trap. When we think about a successful outcome, our brain releases dopamine as if the task is already done, which in turn kills the motivation needed for the actual execution.
   2. Instead of seeing a plan as a set of rules that box you in, try viewing it as a way to protect your long-term desires from your short-term impulses. We want to think of planning as a form of self-advocacy rather than as a punishment.
   3. If a goal feels like an obligation rather than a genuine interest, it will likely fail. Digging into the "Why" behind a goal can help you find a hook that activates your interest, providing the "stick-to-it-iveness" required to see it through.

Hey Team!

So we've got a bit of a different kind of episode today. I am talking with Derek Hales, the founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab, a mattress review website. While that might not scream ADHD, I was interested in having this conversation because so many of us with ADHD have issues around sleep. And what really impressed me with Naplab is how they've really focused on turning mattress testing into actual science, moving away from just "it-feels-soft vibes" and towards using thermal cameras, accelerometers, and other gadgets to really see what's going on with each of these mattresses.

And I know how that sounds, but it is actually kind of cool.

Anyway, in our conversation today, we talked about a lot of what goes into choosing a mattress, what makes something good for one person and not the right fit for someone else. We spend time talking about this systems-first approach to sleep, how your bed frame, sheets, and even the light from things like your alarm clock can either support or sabotage your REM cycles. Of course, we also touch on some of the unique challenges of ADHD and sleep, from circadian rhythm delays to just trying to get our brains to quiet down at night.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/290

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. ADHD brains can have even more trouble filtering out background stimuli, such as lights and sounds, in the bedroom, which can make it even harder for us to fall asleep. Things like blackout shades and earplugs can create an environment that's more conducive to getting more restful and restorative sleep.
   2. Your body's ability to shed heat is a biological requirement for deep sleep. To help with this cooling, look for materials that actually facilitate moisture-wicking and air flow, rather than relying on stuff that just has a surface-level cool-to-the-touch feel.
   3. A lot of marketing from the mattress industry often uses a "more expensive equals better sleep" model, pressuring us to spend more and more on mattresses. Derek suggests a $1,500-$2,000 price range as the performance peak, where the highest-quality materials are used, and you get the most bang for your buck.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what it says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways that we can give you.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Brain potentials reveal reduced attention and error processing during a monetary go/no-go task in procrastination." This study looks at how procrastinators handle mistakes and try to stay focused, especially when tasks get harder, and how those differences in rewards and punishment affect those outcomes. So, there is a lot there—and I'm going to tell you, this paper has a ton of acronyms. Let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/289

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Today I'm talking with Katy Weber, a certified ADHD coach and the creator of the top-rated Women & ADHD podcast. After a career in journalism and wellness, Katy was diagnosed with ADHD at 45. Following that diagnosis, she has built a platform helping neurodivergent women move past the shame of late diagnosis and into a place of radical self-acceptance.

In our conversation, we talk about the systemic stressors that often trigger a late-life ADHD "breaking point," particularly for women navigating career, parenting, and hormonal shifts. We get into the mechanics of masking, why we often use anxiety and shame as our primary motivators, and the overlap between neurodivergence and physical health, looking at how chronic stress manifests in our bodies.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/288

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Recognize that "having it all together" on the outside often comes at a high cost. When people ask, "How do you do it all?" the answer is usually through extreme masking and "white-knuckling," which leads directly to burnout and chronic anxiety rather than true stability.
   2. Many ADHDers wait until the last possible second and use anxiety as a fuel source. While this can work as an effective short-term strategy, keeping yourself in perpetual anxiety to drive productivity is detrimental to long-term mental health.
   3. Broaden your view of ADHD to include the autonomic nervous system and physical health. Katy notes a high correlation between ADHD and "invisible" physical issues like autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain, suggesting that a neurodivergent nervous system reacts to stress in ways that affect the entire body, not just cognitive function.

It's 11:20 right now and I'm eating a brownie, but tomorrow, no more sweets - it's zero sugar for me. And exercise, all of it. Every day. And cleaning? My house is going to be spotless. Email? Say hello to inbox zero. And no more TV or video games, only highly enriching activities for me from now on.

All I have to do is follow the plan. What is the plan? That's not important right now. I'll figure that out tomorrow. For now, I'm going to bask in the glory of what is to come.

All right, let's get back to reality - although I really did write this at 11:20… and while those may not be my thoughts exactly, they aren't that far off from ideas I've had in the past. I mean, they weren't good ideas, but ideas nonetheless.

So today we're talking about midnight motivation - that late-night urge to turn your life around that somehow doesn't translate into the next day. We're going to be talking about why, in the quiet of the night, we become these master architects of our own lives, designing sprawling mansions of productivity because we don't have to worry about the cost of materials or even the laws of physics. But when we wake up, we're no longer the architect; we're the contractor. Or maybe even more accurately, the subcontractor who has been handed some hastily drawn out plans on the back of a bar napkin. So in this episode, we're going to look at why our ADHD brains love building these "theoretical" lives when the world is on pause and how we can start translating those blueprints into something we can actually build during the daylight hours.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. We need to understand that late-night motivation isn't really potential energy(pulling back the bowstring), but rather it's theoretical energy (you're just thinking about the bow). Recognizing this distinction is important in understanding why we never "release the arrow" in the morning; we never actually pulled the string back in the first place.
   2. While it does feel like planning, thinking about doing something isn't the same as planning, and thinking about planning also isn't the same thing as planning. This is important to remember because even though it's not really planning, it still feels like we are, and when we don't follow through with those not-plans, it also still feels bad.
   3. We want to shift our focus from the Vision (the dopamine-heavy end goal) to the Logistics (the boring friction). A plan isn't a plan if it isn't accounting for all those logistical pieces. If the logistics aren't there, your brain will bail the moment you hit a "hidden" step.
   4. By moving "theoretical" plans into a physical calendar, we are better able to see our existing commitments in a visual space. We don't have infinite time, and if we want to start something new, we have to be able to fit it into the calendar.

Hey Team!

Today I'm talking with Meredith Carder, author of It All Makes Sense Now. Meredith is an ADHD coach and the creator behind the popular Instagram account @hummingbird_adhd, where she focuses on neuro-affirming strategies for adults. With a background in psychology and an MBA, she brings a unique perspective on how we can bridge the gap between our high-level professional goals and the executive dysfunction that often gets in the way.

I got to meet Meredith at the 2025 ADHD Conference in Kansas City and then got to hang out with her again recently at NeuroDiversion in Austin. She's a ton of fun to talk with and while this episode had a few hurdles to get over in terms of actually recording it, was a ton of fun.

In our conversation today, we get into the concept of "Ambition vs. Capacity," that frustrating space where our big ideas don't quite match what we are actually capable of doing in the moment. We talk about why we feel so much shame over "adulting" tasks like laundry and dishes, and how changing our mental models of what an "adult" looks like can free up bandwidth for things that actually matter. We also get into Meredith's specific systems for planning her week and how she uses a "Monday Planning Meeting" to set realistic expectations before the week even starts.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/287

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Often, we conflate the ideas of "simple" with "easy," and because simple tasks can lack the stimulation of more complex problems, they sometimes require more deliberate strategy and support, not less.
   2. High-level ideation can be a strength, but it is separate from executive function. We must learn to reconcile our big dreams with our actual current bandwidth to avoid the cycle of "losing self-trust" when we fail to reach unrealistic goals.
   3. Being "good" at something doesn't mean you have to or even necessarily need to do it, especially if it isn't something you are particularly interested in. Selecting goals based on personal values rather than just skills helps ensure that the "20% of boring stuff" required to reach a goal doesn't outweigh the "80% of interest" that keeps us going.