Managing ADHD in Adulthood with Muse

Living with ADHD as an adult can be overwhelming—forgetfulness, trouble focusing, and emotional swings can make everyday tasks feel like a challenge. Add aging into the mix, and managing and maintaining cognitive health becomes even more important. Luckily, there are advancements in technology and brain health management techniques that can help you stay sharp. 

What does ADHD look like in adults?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder affects 4.4% of adults, though it can present differently in men and women. Common symptoms include:

• Forgetfulness
• Impulsivity
• Disorganization
• Restlessness
• Difficulty focusing and completing tasks
• Mood swings

Men often display more outward signs such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, and physical restlessness, making these behaviors more noticeable in environments like school or work. On the other hand, women tend to experience more internalized symptoms, like inattentiveness, daydreaming, and emotional regulation challenges. These subtler signs are often mistaken for mood disorders, contributing to underdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis in women.

Living with ADHD can affect multiple areas of life, making it harder to maintain focus at work, manage relationships, and keep up with daily tasks. Many adults with ADHD also face comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, further compounding their challenges.

Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis

Misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses is unfortunately prevalent in adults. Until recently, ADHD was considered a childhood disorder — so if you weren’t diagnosed before 18, you probably wouldn’t be ever. Even today, doctors and individuals alike may not be aware of how ADHD presents in adults. Likewise, people living without a diagnosis may feel shame or stigma towards getting help, or may even deny or self-medicate their symptoms. 

ADHD and memory decline

One of the most common issues facing adults with ADHD is with memory. On one hand, a brain with ADHD may struggle to focus on a moment or situation and therefore capture details for recall later. For people with ADHD, these struggles with short term, or ‘working memory,’ are common — they might not be able to recall or repeat instructions or even a paragraph they just read. On the other hand, studies suggest that people with ADHD may struggle to form memories at all. 

Because ADHD affects executive function, that is, the skills that help people pay attention and stay organized, issues with memory can directly affect how someone navigates their daily life. They may forget appointments, important dates or anniversaries, or even struggle to get to work on time. 

Can ADHD get worse as we age?

Contrary to popular belief, ADHD does not necessarily get worse with age. However, studies show that symptoms can fluctuate over time and can be exacerbated and compounded by different phases of life. For example, stressful transitions like a career change, a big move, or a breakup can temporarily exacerbate symptoms. Likewise, hormonal changes due to pregnancy, postpartum, or menopause can also impact and intensify symptoms. 

At the same time, without proper management programs and techniques, ADHD can feel like it’s getting worse. Things that used to be easy to manage may get more difficult over time as stress, anxiety, or even the physical effects of age compound. That’s why it’s crucial when living with ADHD to stay on top of brain health and check in on your mental and physical wellbeing. Tracking your brain health with Muse’s Alpha Peak feature, for example, can help detect changes in cognitive function early so you can get ahead of them before your symptoms get worse.

Managing ADHD as you age

In addition to therapies and medications prescribed by your doctor, there are a number of ways you can manage ADHD as you age, especially as it relates to your cognitive function. There are a few ways you can manage your ADHD, including:

1. Practicing mindfulness

Mindfulness is a practice in which you become fully aware of yourself, your feelings, and your surroundings. Studies show that mindfulness training through meditation helps adults with ADHD maintain better focus and eliminate distractions.

2. Exercising regularly

Regular exercise is good for anyone, and especially adults with ADHD. Research suggests that regular exercise helps children with ADHD improve their executive function and exercise better impulse control.

3. Establishing healthy sleep routines

While ADHD is known to impact sleep patterns and routines, exercising good sleep hygiene like limiting screen time before bed and avoiding caffeine is a great way to reduce the impact on your sleep. Likewise, tools like the Muse S headband can help you track, fall, and stay asleep.

4. Maintaining a healthy balanced diet

Although the link is unclear, research suggest there is a positive relationship between ADHD symptoms and sugar consumption. Maintaining a healthy diet that limits execess sugar and processed foods can help improve ADHD symptoms.

5. Bullet journaling

Bullet journaling, a mindfulness practice that emphasizes short and long term goal tracking, is another great way for people with ADHD to track and manage their schedules. Not only does the act of writing improve retention, bullet journaling provides you with a helpful structure to track your tasks, goals, and progress. 

6. Maintaining daily routines

Finally, building and maintaining daily routines for things like getting ready for work, preparing food, and getting exercise can help take the guesswork out, so you can stay on track even if you end up getting distracted.

 

Using Muse to help manage ADHD

Muse Headbands can support adults with ADHD by helping them improve focus and manage emotions through biofeedback sessions. Here’s how: 

1. Tracking brain waves and cognitive performance

Using EEG technology, Muse headbands can track your brain waves in real-time so you can see how your brain reacts to different stimuli, including mindfulness, meditation, sleep, and stress. Muse headbands can also track your Alpha Peak, a measure of your brain’s performance, and offer personalized feedback on how to optimize your brain health. 

2. Improving focus and sleep

Muse may help you uncover the impact of sleep, diet, or exercise on your Alpha Peak, and you can correlate that score to the severity of your symptoms. In other words, Muse can help you see how your lifestyle impacts your ADHD. Regular biofeedback sessions with Muse are proven to help people improve their memory, focus, and sleep.

3. Reducing ADHD-related memory decline

Muse biofeedback can also help you track changes in your memory and focus over time and correlate your cognitive performance to your Alpha Peak and Brain Age. Through consistent mindfulness and meditation practices, you can improve your short and long term memory by learning how to relax and focus your brain. 

4. Improving emotional regulation

Emotional dysregulation is a well-documented challenge for people living with ADHD. Muse can improve your emotional regulation by helping you build a mindfulness routine that supports calm presence of mind. By building awareness of your stress levels and reactions to stimuli, you can build healthy habits and coping skills with the help of real-time personalized suggestions from the Muse app. 

Take control of your ADHD with Muse

Muse may help you manage ADHD as a non-pharmaceutical supplement to your existing treatment plan. Daily biofeedback sessions with Muse can help you stay on top of your symptoms, track your cognitive health over time, and maximize your focus, attention, and memory — especially as you age. To find the right Muse headband for your needs, explore our shop or learn more about Alpha Peak and biofeedback.