Chapotraphouse

You get used to it, it just takes time. You can also ask your prescriber for something to help with sleep. I take trazadone. There's also nothing stopping you from taking it earlier.

You might try to switch up meds too. Adderall felt very "speedy" for me, even the extended release. It releases in 2 waves 4 hours apart.

I much prefer concerta which is the same med just with a better release mechanism (steady all day). In my experience ADHD meds are like antidepressants you might have to cycle through a few to find the right fit

For anyone reading, it is the acidity in your stomach from something like orange juice that alters the uptake of amphetamines. Adderall, for example, is a weak base which becomes more ionized in a highly acidic environment and cannot pass through membranes as well.

For melatonin make sure you are taking a supplement that only gives you .25-.5mg, more than that can be detrimental. Most supplements do more and there's some stupid reason why (the correct dose was trademarked or something after an MIT study). Life Science (I think is the brand) makes a vanilla flavored liquid vial, I buy that and do 3-4 drops and the vial last a very long time since the dose is small. I would also consider taking magnesium glycinate at the same time as the melatonin, stuff is very relaxing.

If you're on ADHD meds, then there is a decent chance that you have to stop all cognitive activity by 7pm.

No social media. No work.

Reading a book or going for some exercise is fine.

But if you get your brain running past 7pm, you will have a hard time shutting it back off for sleep.

Smoke weed?

I've found that hydroxyzine can help if you're feeling too anxious to sleep. Melatonin can help, but usually only when you take it at a consistent time.

Is your aderall XR? Both my kid and I have a combo prescriptions for our ADHD meds. So we take a dose of XR in the morning and an equivalent or lesser dose of immediate release in the afternoon / around lunch. If you're able to talk to your prescriber about the life schedule change , they may be willing to do this.

Optional side quest: If you are unable to change the prescription, as others have said, you do get used to it with time. It is helpful to be strictly consistent (with ADHD? Ha!) With bedtime and taking supplements to reinforce sleeping at the same time for a while. For me, I take a 10mg XR melatonin most nights, but if I start having a hard time waking up in the morning I swap to 2g Valerian root for a night or two. No idea why this works for me, but I do remember reading at some point that melatonin uses a lot of the same components as dopamine. My personal theory is that eventually I hit a point where because my body barely has to make melatonin with the insane high XR dose, it has more components for dopamine, but eventually this builds up and I become more sensitive to my stimulants and the melatonin, so the Valerian root helps me fall asleep while also forcing my body to make more melatonin.

I'm sure someone who knows more on this topic can provide a better explanation but thats mine.

I remember reading the abstract to some studies (which I think I initially saw here) about the effects of Vitamin C on certain ADHD stimulants, in that Vitamin C can reduce the effectiveness of meds and/or counteract compounds in the body. Though I'm not sure exactly which meds are affected and am unsure if it only reduces absorption or actively helps counteract the compounds.

So with that said and taking the above with a grain of salt because i'm a dumbass - maybe some citrus juices or Vitamin C tablets late in the afternoon will assist with winding down?

some more anecdotal statements: I used to struggle with some level of insomnia before i was medicated. I now take 50mg of standard ritalin daily (2 and a half 10mg tabs, twice daily) and I sleep like a rock these days. There are numerous other factors that go into that, but i'll concur with anyone else who comments that "you eventually get used to it". I used to lie awake for hours, now I lie down, put on CPAP mask, turn lights off and i swear i drift off within 20 mins

As someone who’s taken almost every available ADHD medication here’s my 2¢: You might not need 20mg doctors love to over-prescribe that shit. Taking a lower dose (5-10mg) twice a day could be just as effective.

If your mind is racing when you go to bed, the drugs are likely still active. There’s a lot of organizational and motivational methods for getting shit done that will never work for you unmedicated, but could work on lower doses of meds.

Melatonin is a stopgap, you will build a tolerance to it if you try to using it all the time.

Personally I’ve been on atomoxitine (straterra) for the last few months against the behest of my psychiatrist (pill vending machine). It requires more effort and cognizance to still be less effective, but to me it’s worth it to have a “normal” relationship to sleep and food for the first time in almost 20 years.

Ok now for some bad advice: just take niacin to get it out of your system faster. [I have no idea if this works]

And I’m going to have to start taking it in the afternoon.

Are you taking them in the afternoon because that's when you need the effect, or to try to get sleep? If it's the latter then that seems counter productive and would probably make it significantly worse. The half life is apparently about 9-10 hours so you want to make sure you're taking it like 10 hours before you want to fall asleep. Are you on the IR "regular" Adderall or the ER? You might get more bang for your sleepless buck on ER, or just a different drug all together. My friend has better luck on Vyvanse.

I'm ADHD but I've never been prescribed meds for it. (although I do drink a lot of caffeine to compensate) The only way for me to get good sleep is to be RIGID with my sleep schedule. I'll take a melatonin about 1 hour before I want to get in bed. Then I get in bed about 30 minutes to an hour before I want to fall asleep. Staying in bed awake too long can be counter productive. I also need background noise to fall asleep so I'll play a long video that I don't really care about/I've already seen and isn't too interesting.

I find that l-theanine takes the edge off of Ritalin, Adderall. And caffeine. I'll usually have one around dinner time if want my brain to spin down later in the evening

Probably not applicable, but just in case:

Cutting out caffeine helped me get to bed on time. I used to be up until 2-3 am every night, but I have a more typical schedule now. I've bounced around meds and on/off caffeine though, so definitely take with a grain of salt!

20?? I took 5mg with no ill side-effects.

Is that IR or XR? 20 seems like a lot. If you take 10, is it still effective without eating into your bedtimes?

I've been taking adderall for about 20 years and my sleep is pretty excellent even with a newborn. Here's what I do.

Lower your dose to 10-15mg twice a day. I take mine around 8am and 12pm. Go easy on the caffeine throughout the day. Try to get some exercise. This next part is key: create a bedtime wind-down routine. I shower every night, floss, brush my teeth, and put on a moisturizer. I can still get to bed without the next two meds most of the time. I've been doing this routine the same way for a long time and it is the main contributor for why I sleep so well. Then I take .25 mg clonazepam and 10 mg dissolvable melatonin. Get into bed in a cool environment, don't fiddle with your phone, and just settle in. It helps even more if you have roughly the same bedtime every night.

One downside: long-term use of even low dose clonazepam can affect your memory. I've only needed clonazepam for about 5 years because I started having panic attacks at some point and then insomnia. I do take weekly breaks from both adderall and clonazepam for as many days as my productivity can handle. That's usually 2-3 "crash" days. I eventually plan to cut back on the clonazepam entirely.

Also, I forgot to mention, I take low dose Zoloft to help balance out the irritability of the adderall. That helps make me a much more patient person. I highly recommend it, but your brain chemistry may vary.