Last year, Hyperfocus took a field trip to San Diego for an ADHD conference called APSARD, which stands for the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (quite a mouthful).

A conference of ADHD professionals might not sound fascinating, but it was — and we learned a ton. But there was one person and one talk I really wanted to find: A keynote speech about how ADHD affects women’s bodies by Dr. Sandra Kooij.

What Sandra is doing is something so sensible and radical: Looking at ADHD as a whole-body issue. Digging into how it can affect women’s hormones, our health, and especially our hearts.

I find Sandra’s research fascinating and was thrilled when she agreed to sit down for a conversation with me. We didn’t waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift studio for this week’s episode of Hyperfocus.

Also, a quick note on the audio this week: We had to record this episode outside the conference hotel, on a bustling patio full of ADHD professionals and some noisy birds. So, please forgive the extraneous sounds.

Note: We originally published this episode on March 6, 2025.

Related resources

• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel
• Did my ADHD make me more likely to have postpartum depression?
• ADHD Powerbank: Sandra’s video platform
• The Head, Heart, Hormones foundation (in dutch with translations)
• Prevalence of hormone-related mood disorder symptoms in women with ADHD
• The heart health and ADHD connection

For a transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood.org.

We’d love to hear from you. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you have ADHD, you’re probably exhausted — and there’s a real neurological reason for it. Sleep expert Marlee Boyle, co-founder of Sleep Works, joins us to explain why ADHD brains are wired against a good night’s rest. Plus how perimenopause can make it worse. She walks us through CBT-I techniques, the truth about melatonin, and some surprisingly low-tech tools that can fix your circadian rhythm. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, this one is for you.

For more on this topic

• Watch: ADHD and sleep: 5 strategies to finally beat insomnia
• Listen: PMDD: Why women with ADHD are 4x more likely to struggle

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

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You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today’s episode is a crossover with Understood’s new podcast, Everyone Gets a Juice Box. Host Jessica Shaw interviewed Rae about something she rarely discusses on Hyperfocus: Being a mom to a fabulous kid with ADHD. Even with Rae’s 20 years of experience studying and writing about ADHD, getting help for her child in school has been really challenging. Here’s how she’s supporting her daughter while they wait for school services.

For more on this topic

• Listen: Everyone Gets a Juice Box
• Watch: I’m an ADHD expert. My kid still can’t get help.

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if your brain had a volume knob? Researcher Dr. Zachary Gershon joins Rae to explain Homer1a, a gene variant that may hold the key to how we focus. When levels are lower during development, the brain gets better at filtering out distractions, or what scientists call “neural noise.” This discovery could one day lead to non-stimulant treatment options for ADHD. And it started with one scientist’s very personal question.

For more on this topic

• Watch: Is ADHD genetic? We asked a Harvard scientist | Hyperfocus
• Listen: ADHD medication: What do I need to know?

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rae puts on her most uncomfortable pants (on purpose!) to ask a fashion designer and former special ed teacher whether adults can actually get over sensory issues. Julia DeNey, founder of sensory clothing brand Sense-ational You, breaks down why tactile sensitivity doesn’t disappear at 18, what adaptive fashion can (and can’t) fix, and why telling yourself “today’s the day I get over it” is the worst possible strategy.

For more on this topic

• Listen: ADHD and sensory overwhelm: Itchy tags and tight clothes
• Read: ADHD and sensory overload
• Watch: Is “ring of fire” ADHD real?

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hyperfocus listener Jenna Plonsky opens a raw conversation about ADHD, late diagnosis, and the mental health struggles many women face in silence.

From postpartum depression to PMDD, this episode explores how hormonal shifts intersect with neurodivergence — and why so many go undiagnosed for decades. It’s an honest look at shame, self-perception, and the turning point that comes with finally understanding your brain.

For more on this topic

• Watch: Did my ADHD make me more likely to have postpartum depression?
• Listen: ADHD and: Hormones

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our team has been seeing something called “ring of fire” ADHD spreading across the internet. It’s a supposed subtype of ADHD promoted by Daniel Amen, a celebrity psychiatrist with clinics in multiple states and a huge online following.

But in reporting this episode, we found that “ring of fire” ADHD isn’t recognized by mainstream science. Nor are brain scans approved by the FDA as a diagnostic tool for ADHD.

Our guest today, clinical psychologist Roberto Olivardia, PhD, explains why he believes Dr. Amen’s approach is unethical — and how it may lead to real harm for patients seeking answers.

For more on this topic

• Listen: Why there’s no “gold standard” for adult ADHD tests
• Listen: The ADHD content economy: How algorithms and incentives turn help into grift

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rae has a lifelong misconception about her dyscalculia turned on its head. And she learns why labels don’t mean limits.

For more on this topic

• Listen: Kids are at a breaking point, and school policies might be to blame
• Listen: The uncertain future of special education in the United States
• The discrepancy model: What you need to know

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

.

You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood).

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.