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Comment by anigbrowl | Hacker News Reader

Has anyone considered that one reason for being/staying awake late at night that's very salient for ADHD people is that night tends to be much quieter, so it's a period when it's much easier to think/read/work without constant interruptions. Noise pollution isn't taken seriously enough.

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That's why I'm reading this at 1:55AM local time! It definitely gets quieter, though, I'm in the suburbs so not that noisy to begin with. But now, no cars, animals outside mostly asleep (hear an owl sometimes), cell phone stops trying to scam me via voice and text messages, not even aircraft flying overhead (they start between 4-5 am, which is also when the first cars can be heard). Can hear my heartbeat in my ears. But my tinnitus is a lot louder. No job, so no need to get up early though I typically manage before noon.

I wouldn't say I "have ADHD" but I do have a what I call an "attention prioritization and low energy disorder" that nothing i've ever tried has helped. I hear stimulants might help, but never tried em, can't get em.

I agree that that worsens the problems, but I grew up in a quiet, boring village before internet distractions or mobile phones, where this could not have been a factor, and I still had/have insomnia issues (and ADHD).

I'm in my late 40s, which meant that childhood didn't have internet and folks didn't start getting it in their homes more commonly til my late teens.

That doesn't mean distractions weren't there, and those distractions are still around if I live with other people. Growing up, a lot of distractions were parents and siblings. Exciting things on television with lots of noise that I'd notice. Libraries were brutal - quiet places where I would notice people shuffling papers, turning pages, and going about their activities in "silence". I was always better off when folks would just leave me alone to do stuff with lots of background noise so I wouldn't notice stuff - or just being alone. Staying up late gave me that.

It doesn't take modern life or a boring place to be free from distractions.

That's a good point, although at the same time, even the most quiet environment can only help so much to stave off distraction and once hyperfocus starts there's very little that can pull you away.

Oddly, I gravitate towards noise like a busy coffee shops or taking walks along highways. The background noise keeps unwanted thoughts from barging in

It's not just a lack of interruptions or even the lack of potential interruptions, but that I can let my guard down knowing that I'm not inadvertently ignoring someone.

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