How much does neurodivergence impact sleep? Quite a bit according to sleep experts . This bears out my own experience as a neurodiversity coach – one of the issues that many of my clients have in common is just that: disordered sleep. I know first-hand how insufficient sleep impacts mood, energy, diet and capacity to deal with the challenges of day-to-day life. People get by, maybe, but being constantly tired, or on a seriously delayed sleep cycle is demoralising and frustrating. Given that as many as 80% of people with ADHD suffer sleep deprivation, and neurodiversity in general is now known to impact sleep, this is a key issue that could use a lot more attention.

The trouble is, it’s hard to know what to do about it.

In tackling any knotty issue, a good first step is to get to know the beast. What is happening? And why does sleep deprivation go hand in hand with neurodivergence?

To look at the first question, many of my clients talk about their ‘always on’ brain that simply won’t shut off, while others report replaying thoughts and conversations over and over again, revisiting old slights, hurts or injustices that they want to understand or resolve, sometimes going back years. Clearly no resolution is likely during these sleepless hours, but for many this nighttime experience is routine.

The other big issue is delayed sleep phase disorder, where people stay up late and wake up late, sometimes missing most of the daylight hours.

I am sure many neurotypical people can relate to these too, but to look at the second question, ‘why does sleep deprivation go hand in hand with neurodivergence?’ there are some additional factors at play that are worth naming and knowing:

Additional Processing

• Sensory sensitivity means that a whole load more environmental stimuli – noises, sights, smells, sensations – may bombard the neurodivergent brain. Unable to process them all in the moment, these may be parked and processed later when the brain is less stressed (e.g. in bed).

Survival mode and anxiety

• If the environmental demands are overwhelming, survival mode may be the only way to get through. This brings hypervigilance and tension, neither of which is easy to turn off when it comes to rest time. Anxiety may accompany the retrospective replay of events and, if we add Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) into the picture which is a common experience for people with ADHD, autism and other forms of neurodivergence, the potential for anxiety ratchets up further.

Delayed sleep phase disorder

• Delayed sleep phase disorder has a number of causes in neurodivergent people. One is “revenge bedtime procrastination: staying up late as a form of reclaiming autonomy after a day of sensory overload or demands.” Another is getting hyper focussed on an activity, time blindness and struggling with maintaining a routine.

Medication

• Medication and medication timings may also interfere with natural sleep.

Adding insult to injury, the tiring effect of masking means neurodivergent people often need a lot more sleep than their neurotypical counterparts compounding the negative effects.

What can be done about it?

Coaching can help – not necessarily by tackling the issue head on, but by resolving other issues through developing greater self-understanding and acceptance, finding strategies that work for the individual and learning to take things gently. All the same, old habits have a habit of dying hard.

Expert sleep therapist and psychotherapist, Heather Darwhall-Smith, offers a few other pointers which could help. She says:

• There is no ‘normal!’ Sleep is a spectrum and trying to fit a ‘normal’ stereotype will likely lead to further anxiety (and loss of sleep). What is important is to know what is normal for you.
• Sleep is not a choice but biology. A delayed circadian rhythm, for example, is part of our body makeup. All the same, says Darwhall-Smith, we can take steps to change it: anchor your wake-up time, she says, rather than your sleep time, and get out in the morning light to stimulate your circadian rhythm.
• Build exercise into your day, to help you feel tired at night
• Ditch the maths: adding up how many hours of sleep you will get if you fall asleep in the next half hour, say, is an unhelpful practice (remember sleep is a spectrum so chasing normal isn’t helpful).
• Park the thought: make a deal with yourself to deal with what is worrying you it in the morning.
• Get up and move to another dimly lit area and / or read a book or listen to a gentle (slightly boring) podcast until you start to feel tired.

Lack of sleep impacts many people at different stages of their life and particularly neurodivergent people. It is not helped by our ‘always-on’ culture that doesn’t seem to value or prioritise rest. One size solutions will not fit all and a multi-pronged approach may be best, mixing coaching with small practices which support steps towards improved sleep. But the first question to ask yourself is, how important is this matter? Where is it on your list of priorities? If it features pretty highly then it is time to take sleep seriously.

REFS

I’m a psychotherapist with ADHD and insomnia. Here’s how to fix poor sleep, Heather Darwhal-Smith, The Daily Telegraph, 27^th May 2026

The Exhaustion that Nobody Sees, Georgina Smith, ND360, 27^th May 2026

Sleep and Neurodiversity – Nowtobed.co.uk