28. To Sleep Perchance to Pay Attention in School the Next Day

Like a lot of people with ADHD, Marcus and Esme have trouble falling asleep and sometimes even staying asleep. They share some of the challenges they’ve experienced, as well as some of the early challenges they’ve observed with their daughter. They also discuss some of the strategies and resources for falling asleep the O’Kayviuses have tried over the years and how they’re helping their daughter develop good sleep hygiene (even though Marcus hates that term). PLUS: we learn that Esme sometimes talks in her sleep. Not just the occasional mumble or murmur, mind you, but fully engaged conversations with her eyes wide-open. Her somniloquies are not always that convincing, though. Unbound from the logic of the waking world, she’ll sometimes introduce fantastical elements to her conversations, like the time she accused Marcus of letting a noteworthy English Werewolf escape on his watch. It was a baseless accusation, of course, but Marcus still feels guilty about it to this day. 

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Sources for this episode include:

• Pacheco, Danielle. "ADHD and Sleep Problems: How Are They Related?" Sleep Foundation, 30 Apr. 2024, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/adhd-and-sleep. 


• ADDitude Editors. "Night Owls with ADHD: How Staying up Late Boosts Productivity." ADDitude Magazine, 9 May 2025, https://www.additudemag.com/night-owls-adhd-adults-staying-up-late. 


• French, Blandine, et al. "The Impact of Sleep Difficulties in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on the Family: A Thematic Analysis." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, vol. 19, no. 10, 1 Oct. 2023, pp. 1735-1741, https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10662. 


• Cleveland Clinic. "Diaphragmatic Breathing." Cleveland Clinic, 30 Mar. 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9445-diaphragmatic-breathing.


• Hvolby, Allan. "Associations of Sleep Disturbance with ADHD: Implications for Treatment." Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, vol. 7, no. 1, 17 Aug. 2014, pp. 1-18, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4340974/.  

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