ADD Success Tips

ADD Success Tips
By Dana Rayburn, Adult ADD Coach

ADDed Success is ADD Coach Dana Rayburn's monthly newsletter about living successfully with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Welcome To ADDed Success!

Bruce, a long-time fan of ADDed Success, sent me this question: "Dana, why is my ADHD worse some days than others? Medication helps, but my performance still varies from one day to the next. This drives me crazy. What I can do?"

Thanks for asking Bruce! Not knowing how your brain will work from day to day is one of the annoying things about ADHD. Going from Superman to zombie in a few hours is very frustrating.

Here are some things that can effect your performance. On unproductive days, consider if any could be factor.

Food. An ADHD brain needs regular meals with protein such as nuts, cheese, yogurt, milk, soy, meat, fish, beans and eggs (watch the fat content). Skipping meals really drains energy. If you're one who forgets to eat, set an alarm to remind you it's chow time.

Sleep. ADHD or not, exhausted brains don't work well. Is your performance worse when you haven't been getting much sleep?

Alcohol. Drinking more than one glass of wine slows me down for a couple of days. Is there a connection between your alcohol consumption and your performance?

Exercise. Studies show that regular aerobic exercise helps the ADD brain work better. Experiment and see if a quick walk around the block makes a difference.

Enough Mental Stimulation. The ADHD brain MUST have stimulation. Too few activities, deadlines and appointments can seriously slow your performance. Being interested in what your doing helps too.

Transitions. It is hard for people with ADHD to switch from one activity or situation to another. Seemingly simple things like changing your schedule, returning from vacation or starting a new project can slow you down for a few days.

Hormones. The hormonal fluctuations women experience as their estrogen levels decrease with age slow performance. That's because our brains need estrogen to function well. Seems like a cruel trick doesn't it! Just when we start getting a handle on things, our brain power is reduced.

There you go. Though everyone with ADHD is different, these are the main things that can cause your performance to vary from day to day. Your mission, and I hope you choose to accept it, is to connect the dots between what's happening in your life and your daily ups and downs.

To Your ADDed Success,

Dana

PS. - Trouble Staying Organized? No Problem! Reserve your copy of 'Organized for Life' at the special 'early-bird' price.

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