MAKING SPACE TO RECHARGE: Summer Strategies for Adults with ADHD
For many adults, summer feels like an opportunity to exhale. After months of juggling school schedules, work deadlines, sports practices, appointments, family responsibilities, and the endless logistics of daily life, the slower pace can feel like finally reaching the finish line.
But for adults with ADHD, summer presents both an opportunity and a challenge. While it's tempting to abandon routines altogether and embrace a season of spontaneity, too little structure can sometimes leave us feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or struggling to regain momentum when fall arrives. Summer doesn't have to be about productivity - and it certainly shouldn't feel like another item on your to-do list. Instead, it can become a valuable reset—a chance to recharge, reconnect with what matters most, and create space for the activities, relationships, and experiences that often get sidelined during the busier months.
There’s a moment that happens for many adults around this time of year when the pace finally begins to slow. The school calendar winds down, carpools disappear from the schedule, sports seasons wrap up, and work obligations often feel a little less intense. For the first time in months, you may glance at your calendar and notice something unusual: a little breathing room.
For some people, that feels wonderful. For adults with ADHD, it can feel wonderful and surprisingly disorienting at the same time.
Throughout the year, many of us operate in a state of constant motion. There are deadlines to meet, people to care for, appointments to remember, errands to run, and an endless stream of tasks demanding our attention. Even when life feels hectic, those obligations often provide a framework that keeps us moving forward with purpose. Then summer arrives and that external structure begins to shift. While part of you may be eager to toss aside every responsibility and embrace a season of complete freedom, another part of your brain may benefit from approaching summer a little differently—not as another opportunity for self-improvement, but as a chance to reframe and reset.
Why ADHD Brains Need Recovery Too
One thing I talk about often with adults in my practice is the amount of energy ADHD requires. People frequently underestimate how much effort goes into managing executive functioning challenges every day. Planning, prioritizing, transitioning between tasks, regulating emotions, remembering responsibilities and keeping track of time all require ongoing mental effort.
For many adults with ADHD, that effort is largely invisible. Recent research by Kristin Koppelman and her colleagues found that stress may contribute to an increase of ADHD symptoms but there wasn’t a direct link. This result is surprising because many adults with ADHD report experiences of higher stress but studies show that they have typical cortisol levels. New research indicates that differences in how the brain and body regulate stress, inconsistent cortisol levels throughout the day, disrupted circadian rhythms, emotional dysregulation, and inflammatory processes may all contribute to why adults with ADHD often feel chronically overwhelmed.
This means that by summer, many people with ADHD are carrying months of accumulated mental fatigue. Burnout doesn't always announce itself in a stereotypic meltdown. Sometimes it shows up as irritability, procrastination, or even constant doom-scrolling. The challenge is that exhaustion can be easy to overlook when you've become accustomed to operating at a high level of effort. So many neurodivergent adults are adept at masking their fatigue. You may not realize how tired you are until the pace slows and allows for your body and brain to catch up.
The Temptation to Do Nothing—and Everything
Once Summer rolls around, I notice that two competing impulses often show up at the same time for the adults with ADHD whom I work with. On the one hand, you're tired. You may be craving rest, fewer obligations, and a break from managing everyone else's needs. On the other hand, the arrival of free time can spark a surge of possibilities. Suddenly your brain is generating ideas for projects, hobbies, home improvements, travel plans, and personal goals.
I've seen many clients move from "I'm going to spend the summer relaxing" to "I'm going to reorganize the entire house, train for a marathon, start a side business, and finally learn Spanish" in about fifteen minutes. Neither extreme tends to work particularly well. A season with no structure at all can leave ADHD brains feeling untethered and restless. A season packed with ambitious goals often recreates the same stress you're hoping to escape. The sweet spot usually lives somewhere in between. Summer works best when it includes room for recovery alongside a sense of intention.
The Power of a Gentle Reset
When I talk about a summer reset, it’s less about making dramatic life changes or creating an entirely new version of yourself and more about simply being present, aware, and mindful.
This time of year offers a valuable opportunity to pause and ask a few important questions. What has been working well for me? What feels harder than it needs to? What have I been missing? Many adults spend so much time responding to immediate demands that they rarely have an opportunity to step back and assess how life is actually going.
Summer naturally creates a pause point for this. Research from the American Psychological Association has consistently shown that recovery periods can reduce stress and improve overall well-being. People who regularly engage in restorative activities report better mood, lower stress levels, and greater resilience when facing future challenges.
What stands out to me here is the word “restorative”. Not productive, not optimized, not goal oriented: simply restorative. There is a meaningful difference between doing something because it helps you feel replenished or restored and doing something because you think you should. Summer is the ideal time to dial in this practice.
Reconnecting with What Matters
I’m sure you know how quickly personal priorities can get pushed aside during busy seasons. Exercise becomes inconsistent, friendships move to the back burner, creative hobbies disappear. Activities that once felt nourishing are often the first things sacrificed when schedules become crowded. Before long, months have passed without engaging in what once mattered.
Summer creates an opportunity to reconnect with the parts of life that help you feel grounded and energized. For some people, that's gardening, spending time outdoors, swimming, painting, or reconnecting with friends they haven't seen in far too long.
Researchers have found that spending at least 120 minutes per week in natural environments can be associated with improved health and psychological well-being. Fortunately, there is no perfect way to spend that time. A walk around the neighborhood counts. Sitting on a porch with your morning coffee counts. Taking your dog to a local park counts too. Remember, the goal isn't to do more. Use this summer to reconnect with experiences that help you feel more like yourself.
Don't Abandon Every Routine
This may be the least exciting piece of advice in this week’s blog, but it may also be the most useful. Many adults with ADHD benefit from maintaining a few anchor routines during slower seasons or periods of transition. Notice I said a few: just a handful of reliable routines that provide structure as an anchor are key when other routines change.
This might mean maintaining a consistent wake-up time, taking medication at the same time each day, daily exercise, filling in or checking your calendar for the week, planning ahead for meals for certain days or reading with your kids each night. These regular habits create a sense of stability without turning summer into another project to manage. I've seen many adults arrive in September feeling far less stressed because they maintained a few simple anchors throughout the summer months. They made their summer schedule supportive instead of overcommitted or restrictive.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
When September rolls around, what would your future self thank you for doing this summer?
What is one thing that stresses you that you could set aside for the summer?
How can you incorporate some self-care activity into your summer?
The Bottom Line
Summer doesn't have to become a self-improvement project disguised as relaxation. For adults with ADHD, the most valuable use of this season may be something much simpler: recovery.
After months of managing responsibilities, adapting to schedules, and keeping countless moving pieces in motion, your brain deserves an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and recharge. The goal isn't to emerge from summer as a completely different person. It's to enter the next season feeling more rested, more connected to yourself, and a little clearer about what matters most.
Warmly,
Dr. Sharon Saline
