[StevenWaterman]

> It would be weird if stimulants only had an effect of ADHD patients

One example of this actually happening is the concept of a "stimulant nap" in people with ADHD, where stimulants actually make them sleepier. Also manifesting as "I tried coke once, it didn't do anything, I just felt sleepy"

Terrible source but it's a pretty common thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/hkkyjl/you_know_your_...

[agency]

I find the claim (repeated verbatim in some of the comments here) that people with ADHD process stimulants differently particularly specious. Are there any medical studies/not-reddit threads that suggest anything like this?

[StevenWaterman]

Essentially the idea is that there is an "optimal" amount of alertness (inverted U curve). People with ADHD start below the optimal point, and stimulants move them up towards the optimal point. People without ADHD are typically closer to the optimal point, and stimulants move them past it.

Someone with ADHD taking a large dose will therefore feel the same as someone without ADHD taking a small(er) dose.

Methylphenidate improves sleep in people with ADHD: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2276739/

> Compared to [non-adhd] controls untreated [adhd] patients showed increased nocturnal activity, reduced sleep efficiency, more nocturnal awakenings and reduced percentage of REM sleep. Treatment [of those with adhd] with methylphenidate resulted in increased sleep efficiency as well as a subjective feeling of improved restorative value of sleep.

I can't find a corresponding paper studying the effect of stimulants on sleep in healthy adults. I would assume it hasn't been studied because it's common knowledge and it's not worth the risk of making healthy people take stimulants. I also don't think that's the part you were disputing.

[lazide]

It’s called the ‘paradoxical calming effect’. Here is a nature article on it [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07029-2].

Here is more detailed data [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45708101_Role_of_Ab...].

It doesn’t happen to everyone with ADHD, but the majority.

The effect itself was prominent/notable as early as WW1, as the drugs were widely used by all parties to help fight fatigue and drowsiness. However, a small percentage of the population would end up with the opposite effect - ending up tired, even sleepy, and often calmer instead of more alert.

It took awhile however, before wider implications of sub-population differences in drug effects like this were studied or applied.