Therapy Distinguishes Hyper‑sensitivity from Neurodivergence as Study Links ADHD to Sleep‑Like Brain Waves

Psychotherapy can help patients separate hypersensitivity, sensory overload and neurodivergence by tracking the history, regularity and daily impact of intense emotional or sensory reactions, rather than assigning a label at the outset. The approach clarifies that sensory overload alone does not indicate a neurodevelopmental disorder, and encourages precise vocabulary to guide treatment.

A separate neuroscientific study found that adults with Attention‑Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder exhibit more frequent intrusions of slow, sleep‑associated brain waves during tasks that require sustained attention. Conducted by researchers at Inserm in France and the University of Monash in Australia, the experiment compared 32 medicated ADHD participants with 31 neurotypical controls, showing a higher density of these waves correlated with increased attentional errors, slower reaction times and greater mental fatigue. The phenomenon, described as “local sleep,” may represent a key neural mechanism underlying the attentional lapses characteristic of ADHD.