Why ADHD Adults Stay Exhausted (And What do Do About It)

Summary

Dr. Sasha Hamdani explains why adults with ADHD can feel exhausted even after a quiet day. The fatigue may come from mental effort happening out of sight—not laziness or a lack of willpower. She describes six potential sources:

• Two brain networks running at once: The goal-directed network handles tasks, while the brain’s background network wanders and makes associations. When both are active together, focusing can take more effort. Hamdani suggests allowing some unstructured downtime, such as taking a walk without trying to solve a problem or sitting without scrolling.
• Masking or monitoring yourself: Suppressing movements, editing what you say, and trying to match others’ behavior can be draining. When possible, spend time in safe environments or with people around whom you can lower the mask. Start with small interactions.
• Emotional regulation: Stress can accumulate through the day, making it harder to manage emotions and impulses later. For an intense emotional moment, Hamdani recommends a “cyclical sigh”: inhale through the nose, take a second short inhale at the top, then exhale slowly through the mouth. Repeat if helpful.
• Decision fatigue: Small choices—such as phone use, what to wear, or sorting mail—can consume energy. Reduce avoidable decisions by setting routines, repeating meals or outfits, and keeping your phone out of reach at the start of the day.
• Hyperfocus and crashes: Intense focus can be followed by a slump, shame, and difficulty restarting. Rather than waiting until everything is finished to rest, schedule breaks and recovery time into your work.
• Sleep, eating, and hormones: Hamdani discusses irregular sleep and eating patterns, and notes that hormonal changes can affect some women’s ADHD symptoms. Notice personal patterns—for example, keep food available if you forget to eat while focused, and take a consistent evening routine and limiting screens seriously when sleep is disrupted.

Hamdani also suggests checking for patterns without judgment:

• Do quiet days still leave you exhausted?
• Do enjoyable social events derail the rest of your day?
• Do small frustrations build into an evening crash?
• Are emails left unanswered, or do you burn out after a big achievement?

The aim is to understand what is happening rather than blame yourself or simply push harder.

Presenter and Sources

• Presenter: Dr. Sasha Hamdani, psychiatrist
• Source mentioned: Hamdani’s TED Talk (not named in the subtitles)