ADHD and periods: Are my hormones making my symptoms worse?

Phone alarms are what get teaching assistant Layla through her day. She has four alarms to wake up, one to get dressed, another to pack her work bag, and so on.

“There’s a million different ones. Different times of the day,” says the 30-year-old as she scrolls through the alerts on her phone.

“It feels like overkill to a lot of people, but I have these markers that I need to hit,” says Layla, adding that the process helps keep her ADHD brain focused and establish a routine.

But that sense of control evaporates as soon as Layla’s period nears – the peak of her menstrual cycle.

“It’s like you’re clinging on, for dear life, onto the ball that is continuing to roll, and sort of cursing yourself and the world the entire time.”

ADHD is a condition where the brain works differently to a lot of people including difficulties with things like concentrating, regulating emotions and sitting still, according to the NHS.

Conversations are rife on social media and chat forums about women’s menstrual cycles exacerbating their ADHD symptoms.

A first of its kind study by Kings College and Queen Mary University in London is putting that link to the test, by asking 50 women who have ADHD and are taking medication for it, to track their menstrual cycle and the impact it has on their ADHD symptoms, and daily life more broadly.