26. QUICK RESET: Why You Keep Waking at 3am — And It’s Not Just Anxiety

ADHD Mums

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14d ago 13:06

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If you’ve ever jolted awake at 3:11am spiralling over something you said in 2019 — you are not alone.

This Quick Reset is for the mums lying in bed, exhausted but wired, wondering if their brain is broken. (Spoiler: it’s not.)

In this raw and validating episode, Jane unpacks the real reasons so many neurodivergent women are waking up in the middle of the night. It’s not just anxiety. It’s hormones, cortisol spikes, perimenopause, trauma, overstimulation — and nervous systems that have been stuck in survival mode for years.

This episode gives you permission to stop blaming yourself for ‘bad sleep’ and start exploring what your body might actually be trying to say.

✨ IN THIS RESET:
• Why you might wake up at the exact same time every night
• What progesterone and GABA have to do with your 3am brain spiral
• Cortisol spikes, perimenopause, and stress-pattern sleep
• Why lying in bed makes it worse — and what to do instead
• The ‘entree thought’ that leads to a full-blown shame tornado
• Real stories, lived experience, and no-pressure ideas to try
• What actually helped Jane stop dreading the night

💭 This episode is for you if:
– You wake up at 3am and feel like your brain is on fire
– You spiral through every mistake you’ve ever made — and then still have to parent all day
– You’ve tried all the sleep hygiene hacks and nothing works

📥 Grab free ADHD resources at: https://adhdmums.com.au/resources/

📖 Read Blog Version HERE.

Other Quick Reset Episodes:

S3E8 Advocating for Your Child Shouldn’t Break You — But It Often Does: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E10 Why am I bracing for impact when nothing is wrong?: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E12 I can’t stop snapping when my child does this one thing: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E14 I Cancel Plans Because I Don’t Have the Energy to Fake My Personality: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E15 He wants the Maldives but we can't even manage the park: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E16 No meds, No plan, and no help..... but yet they're still calling us undiagnosed: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E17 How we survive the 3- 6:00 PM shit show when kids are coming down off meds: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S3E18 Why you are bad at asking for help and what to do instead: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S2E22 Why self-care feels like another fucking task: Spotify | Apple Podcast
S2E24 The ADHD Myth of 'Just try Harder': Spotify | Apple Podcast

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MORE RESOURCES:

Still unsure if ADHD or autism applies to you or your child? Take my recommended self-tests here.

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:
3am wakeups, ADHD insomnia, perimenopause, neurodivergent women, cortisol spikes, progesterone crash, GABA regulation, executive dysfunction, trauma-affected sleep, emotional overload, hormone dysregulation, ADHD parenting, internalised anxiety, rejection sensitivity, hypervigilance, shame spiral, ADHD women, sleep and trauma, chronic stress patterns.

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#Fitness #Parenting #Mental Health #Jane McFadden