***If you've tried a smart watch but had trouble charging, losing, or remembering to wear it, skip to the "ADHD-Friendly Watch Tips" section!
Smart watches can be an EXTREMELY helpful tool for people with ADHD! Here are some tips on how to use them to help manage your ADHD!
Smart Watch Benefits for ADHD
Stop missing important calls/texts
Helps you not be late to things because it vibrates to remind you
I used to be late to work meetings SO frequently because I'd be in hyperfocus and wouldn't notice the notification on my phone/laptop. Having your watch vibrate helps SO much!
Only receive important notifications on watch (have the distracting ones stay on your phone). You check your phone less often and get distracted less often.
Helps with time blindness ;)
Find your phone by pinging it from your watch (I use this feature 10+ times a day). Saves SO much time!
How many hours have you wasted looking for your phone?
How many times have you been late because you couldn't find your phone?
Set reminders/timers/check the weather/etc. without having to find your phone OR get distracted once you open your phone.
How many times have you forgotten why you opened your phone, got distracted, started doom scrolling, and never set the reminder?
Being able to tell if you took your meds or not based on your heart rate
I know what my resting heart rate is off Adderall, on Adderall, and with caffeine and Adderall.
When I don't remember if I took my meds or not, I check my heart rate. If it's at my resting heart rate without Adderall, I wait another 30 minutes (just in case) and check it again. If it's still around the same heart rate, I know I didn't take my meds so it's safe to take them!
Monitor heart health (VERY important if you're on stimulants)
If you want to stay on stimulants long term, it's VERY important to keep your heart healthy.
Stimulants make your heart work harder — which isn't bad for you as long as you're keeping your heart healthy. (and you don't have serious heart conditions, but your doctor wouldn't prescribe you stimulants if you did)
STIMULANTS ARE NOT BAD!!! Studies have found the benefits of ADHD medication FAR outweigh any side effects. (source, source)
People with untreated ADHD have a shorter average life expectancy than people without ADHD; HOWEVER, people with treated ADHD have no difference in life expectancy! (ADHD and life expectancy research: source, source, source, source, source)
(This is NOT to push stimulants. You can manage ADHD with and without medication. I just don't want to scare people and make them think stimulants are bad.)
ADHD-Friendly Watch Tips
Tips To Not Lose Your Watch
You are ONLY allowed to put your watch in 2 place: on your wrist, or on the charger.
If your watch dies on your wrist, DO NOT TAKE IT OFF! Keep it on your wrist until you're home and can put it on your charger.
Keep your charger in ONE place. Do not move it around. It's better to have one designated watch charger location and forget your watch on the charger for a day (or week). If you move the charger around, you'll forget where the charger is, take off your dead watch because it's annoying, and then lose your watch.
Charing Tips / Remembering to Wear Your Watch
Designated charging times: charge your watch while you shower and/or charge it while you sleep.
When you get undressed to shower, put your watch on the charger.
Associate putting on your watch with putting on clothes. It will take a few weeks to add putting on your watch into your getting dressed routine — stick with it! You can do it!
How to add putting on your watch to your routine:
Write a note ("put on watch") and leave it by your watch charger. When you put your watch on the charger, wrap the note around your phone.
It's okay to put the watch on if it's not fully charged (most watch batteries last over 24 hours anyway)! It's better to stick to your routine and put your watch on before it's fully charged than to leave it on the charger and forget it.
Comentarios