7 Bonus Sleep Hacks

If your room isn’t pitch black, your brain thinks it’s morning. Even a tiny LED dot can spike your nervous system. Tape it. Hide it.

Unplug it. Treat your room like a cave.

Your body will thank you.

Science: Light hitting the retina suppresses melatonin for hours.

Counterintuitive but powerful.

Warm your body up in the last 1–2 hours before bed. Hot shower, warm socks, whatever.

Your core temp drops afterwards which signals “sleep time”.

Science: Lowering core body temp increases REM.

That anxiety spiral? It’s the cortisol spike.

You can’t out-think it.

Instead, keep the lights low, breathe slow, and don’t grab your phone.

Act like you’re bored. Your brain gets the hint.

Your one is perfect. Here’s the second cousin.

Pick a random category instead of a word.

“Fruit.”

Picture apples, kiwis, plums…

Most ADHD brains pass out before they hit letter H.

Science: Based on “serial diverse imagery” disrupting rumination.

Fast and brutal.

Inhale for 4.

Hold for 2.

Exhale for 6.

Repeat 10 times.

It forces your nervous system to stand down from high alert.

Science: Extending the exhale activates the vagus nerve.

Set an alarm to start unwinding, not just to wake up.

Your ADHD brain needs a cue to slow down.

When that alarm hits, do one tiny calming action. One.

It creates a bedtime ritual without the faff.

Science: Habit cues reduce cognitive load.

Don’t lie there trying to sleep.

That’s performance anxiety for neurodivergent brains.

Instead, switch into low-stimulation mode: audiobook, boring podcast, brown noise.

Your brain drifts. You slide under.

Science: Reduces cognitive load and ruminative thought.