What the evidence supports — and what it doesn't.
We read the research so you don't have to take our word for it. These notes cover the four moments — starting, switching, focusing, stopping — the everyday difficulties around them, and what is known to help. Every claim carries its source and its limits.
Supported
Adult ADHD is common — roughly 2.5–3% of adults meet full criteria and more report significant symptoms. Group-level differences in working memory, inhibition and set-shifting are moderate. Sleep problems, emotional dysregulation and hyperfocus are widely reported. Late diagnosis — especially in women — is well documented. Structured psychological programs show moderate benefits in trials, and clinical guidelines recommend environmental changes such as shorter focus periods with breaks and written over verbal instructions.
Not supported (yet)
That any specific timer preset, task limit, scoring rubric or "two-minute restart" is optimal; that body doubling, AI assistants or apps treat ADHD; that "rejection sensitive dysphoria" or "ADHD burnout" are formal diagnoses; that hyperfocus is a reliable superpower. Where an idea is popular but thin on evidence, the notes say so.
How to read the notes
- "Associated with" is not "causes." Most large studies compare groups at one moment in time.
- Group averages are not you. Your own records are the only data about you.
- Effect sizes are quoted with their labels — never turned into percentages.
- Child studies stay child studies. Community words are not diagnoses.
- LOOPING's design choices are consistent with guideline strategies. LOOPING itself has not been tested in a trial and is not a treatment.
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