How Coffee Became My ADHD Superpower ☕
‼️‼️ PLEASE DO NOT STOP USING ADHD MEDICATION OR CONSIDER COFFEE AN ALTERNATIVE TO MEDS | TALK TO YOUR DR. ‼️‼️
Diagnosis when I was young was almost unheard of and, as we know, has been even harder for girls. Even now, it’s hard to get a diagnosis because the strategies and coffee help massively.
I accidentally discovered strongly percolated and coffee at age 10, and honestly, I’ve never looked back. It was love at first sip—well, more like love at first sip of clarity 🤯. From that moment, coffee became my not-so-secret weapon in the battle against ADHD.
My Early (and Chaotic) Coffee Adventures 🚀
As a dyspraxic kid, I tried to bring coffee to school in a flask, which was its own kind of adventure. I’d either forget to tighten the lid and end up with coffee-scented textbooks 📚, lose the flask entirely, or worse—leave it in my locker long enough for it to mutate into an unholy sludge that could probably fuel a small rocket 🚀.
Why Coffee Works for Me 🔬
ADHD and focus don’t always go hand in hand, but coffee has a way of temporarily turning my brain from a chaotic browser with 37 open tabs into something resembling a well-oiled machine (or at least a machine with fewer error messages) 🖥️. Science backs me up on this—caffeine enhances dopamine activity, which is basically like giving my brain a tiny, caffeinated high-five 🙌.
According to research, caffeine can improve attention, learning, and memory in ADHD brains, particularly during adolescence. Animal studies have found that caffeine increases dopamine and norepinephrine activity in the prefrontal cortex—the same neurotransmitters targeted by ADHD medications 🧠. Interestingly, caffeine has also been shown to improve spatial memory and executive function without increasing blood pressure or body weight. So, my lifelong coffee habit might actually be backed by science after all! ☕🔬
A cup of coffee helps me settle into tasks I’d usually avoid, like paying bills or writing emails that don’t sound like they were composed by a hyperactive ferret 🐿️. It also gives me a false but much-needed sense of responsibility, as if holding a mug of coffee somehow makes me a functioning adult. (Spoiler: it doesn’t, but let’s pretend.)
A Delicate Balance: Too Much vs. Just Right ⚖️
Of course, coffee isn’t a flawless system. Too much caffeine? That’s not a thing for me. Unlike most, I don’t get jittery—I focus better, think more clearly, and even sleep like a baby with a milky coffee at night 😴. Studies suggest that caffeine’s effects on hyperactivity and impulsivity in ADHD are mixed—some research indicates it helps, while other findings are inconclusive. Personally, it helps me stay grounded, and rather than keeping me up at night, it actually helps me relax and fall asleep 🛌. Too little, and my motivation disappears faster than my flask on a school bus 🚌. I’ve learned to time my intake wisely—morning coffee is essential, afternoon coffee is acceptable, and evening coffee is a comforting ritual that actually helps me wind down for a good night’s sleep ☕🌙.
Coffee: Not a Cure, but Definitely a Coping Mechanism 🎯
I won’t claim that coffee is a miracle fix for ADHD, but it’s one of the few things that consistently helps me function like a person who (mostly) has their life together. Between managing executive dysfunction and finding lost flasks (somewhere out there, a locker still holds one hostage) 🔎, I’ll take whatever small victories I can get.
So, here’s to coffee—my trusted companion in the grand, caffeine-fueled saga of life with ADHD. May my mug always be full ☕, my flask always be sealed 🔒, and my locker never again house a biohazard ☠️.
Kath x
Kath Smith 📝
ASI Wise & Sensory Project 🎓