I am a 20 year old male college student and I have been taking generic Adderall for ADD for a couple months and I love it. I have motivation and drive to be productive, I'm more sociable and friendly, and I just feel happier and in control of my life. The only thing is, I'm having a really hard time falling asleep at night. It's just a pain to try and figure out a balanced time to take it where it doesn't wear off too soon (because I get depressed) and it doesn't last too long.

When I first started taking Adderall, I was prescribed the 10mg generic XR tablets. I would take one around 12pm and then half of one around 4-5pm. Now I'm prescribed 20mg generic XR tablets and I usually take one tablet whenever I wake up, but it seems to last a lot longer than the 10mg. So I would try not to take it after 4 to give myself enough time to relax and be able to fall asleep. But usually I can't stop doing things like homework, cleaning, and other random projects. By the time I'm tired enough to fall asleep, I get nervous that I am going to over sleep and miss my classes because I have an even harder time waking up in the morning. So I usually just take another Adderall and not sleep at all. This has ruined my sleep schedule and now I stay up 1-2 nights every week and it's messing everything else up.

Does anyone else have this same problem? Does anyone know how I can fix my sleep schedule? I really like the positive side effects of Adderall and I really don't want to go back to the way I was before. Ugh...it's so frustrating because I thought my life was going to be alot better with Adderall, but this can't be good for my body. :(

Hello and welcome to the forums!:)

You definately need to get more sleep!

The meds don't work as effectively as they should when you don't get enough sleep. You should be getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Do you not have an alarm to wake you in the mornings?

Have you talked to your doctor about your sleep issues?

Good luck and let us know how you're doing!:)

I set my alarm evey night, but it's a 50-50 chance whether or not I actually hear it in the morning, haha. I talked to my psychiatrist but he's not very helpful with the whole situation.

If you are taking another dose of Adderall at night time, and then again in the morning it sounds like you are taking more then you are being prescribed. I wouldn't say you are abusing the substance yet, but keeping up this trend is not healthy. You need to get control of your sleeping schedule. Keeping up this life style and exceeding your dosages is abuse of the substance.

If you are taking 20 mg XR, take it in the morning when you wake up, or before your first class/first major brain demanding task of the day. This pill should last you till the evening/night time. Go to sleep as soon as the drug wears off. Even if you have trouble sleeping, getting some sleep is better then none.

Use your time wisely when you are on Adderall so that you do not need to take more to finish work/projects later in the day.

Set you alarm, and if you can't hear your alarm buy a new one that is louder. It is that simple.

Be careful with this drug man. What your doctor prescribes you is what you should take. I used Adderall similarly to you at one point. If I couldn't sleep I'd pop one more stay up all night, and then pop another in the day. For weeks on end I was running 2 days up 1 night sleep. This caught up with my body quickly. Fix your **** before you **** with yourself.

Nah I think you misunderstood what I said in the previous post. My normal dose is 20mg in the morning, and then 10mg after the first dose wears off. But I think I take the second dose too late in the day, which leads to me staying up all night and having to take another dose just to make it through the next day and not miss my classes. My family has a history of drug/alcohol abuse so I'm really trying to watch myself with Adderall. Trust me, I don't want any more problems in my life. Haha

Did you mean IR? You can't get XR as a generic yet, and the XR comes in capsules, whereas the IR comes in tablets.

If it's a choice of Adderall wearing off too early in the day or keeping you up at night, I think the lesser of two evils is letting it wear off early. Chronic sleep deprivation will catch up to you, as I'm sure you know.

If the 20 mg tablet lasts too long and causes you to take your 10 mg dose too late in the day, why not stick to 10 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the afternoon? Don't take any 6 hours before bed. That should be plenty of time for your second dose to wear off and let you sleep.

I also have to set my alarm really loud because I'm such a deep sleeper. The clock is right next to my head and I make sure the volume is high enough that the radio blasts me in the face when my alarm goes off. It's so loud that it startles my cats off my bed, lol. But it wakes me up.

I am a 20 year old male college student and I have been taking generic Adderall for ADD for a couple months and I love it. I have motivation and drive to be productive, I'm more sociable and friendly, and I just feel happier and in control of my life. The only thing is, I'm having a really hard time falling asleep at night. It's just a pain to try and figure out a balanced time to take it where it doesn't wear off too soon (because I get depressed) and it doesn't last too long.

When I first started taking Adderall, I was prescribed the 10mg generic XR tablets. I would take one around 12pm and then half of one around 4-5pm. Now I'm prescribed 20mg generic XR tablets and I usually take one tablet whenever I wake up, but it seems to last a lot longer than the 10mg. So I would try not to take it after 4 to give myself enough time to relax and be able to fall asleep. But usually I can't stop doing things like homework, cleaning, and other random projects. By the time I'm tired enough to fall asleep, I get nervous that I am going to over sleep and miss my classes because I have an even harder time waking up in the morning. So I usually just take another Adderall and not sleep at all. This has ruined my sleep schedule and now I stay up 1-2 nights every week and it's messing everything else up.

Does anyone else have this same problem? Does anyone know how I can fix my sleep schedule? I really like the positive side effects of Adderall and I really don't want to go back to the way I was before. Ugh...it's so frustrating because I thought my life was going to be alot better with Adderall, but this can't be good for my body. :(

I've been taking Adderall for more than 10 years and the insomnia is the issue I've noticed the most. I only sleep for about 3 or 4 hours a night tops, but I don't really mind it anymore. I take 120 Mgs of Adderall XR everyday and have for years. The interesting thing is that I don't drink coffee in the morning. I still have enough Adderall in my bloodstream in the morning that I can wake up alert and ready to go even though I've only slept for a couple 3 or 3 hours.

Also, you may want to try taking a dose a little later than might seem reasonable. You may find that you can sleep better with a little more Adderall in your bloodstream.

I have taken Adderall for the last 5 years. I already have a history of problems falling asleep. To combat this, I do not take my second dose after 12pm. On nights that I am still wide awake, my doctor recommended I take a Tylenol simply sleep or pm, which works like a charm.


good luck!

I read on the internet a suggestion to take 4 calcium pills at night (with out vitamin c) to cancel out the effect of the drug.

I'm thining of trying that

This is my first week on adderall, and I just switched to 12 hour night shifts!!!! I am not sleeping right. I have 2 days off so I am gonna sleep (or rest) to get on to night shift

When your done doing your homework, cleaning and other random projects, and when you fell that your sleepy, don't be afraid that you will over sleep and miss your classes the next day. Just relax your mind and body. And minimize the using of Adderall.

When I first starting taking adderall I couldn't sleep for like a month or two. I mean I slept, but it was a battle every night even though my last dose was at 2pm.

Now I don't really have a problem and I can take a dose at 5pm and still sleep. I guess your body just gets used to it. If I were you, I'd try to wake up earlier and sleep earlier, so that you're always sleep when it's dark.

Best of luck,
Matt

i take my vitamin c, magnesium and inositol like 3-4 hours before bed...kills any remaining adderall pretty quick

for me thou what ticks me off is been able to fall asleep fine, but wake at 2-3am cant fall back asleep....hate it, dont think thats adderall thou