r/science Professor | Medicine 16d ago

Neuroscience ADHD misinformation on TikTok is shaping young adults’ perceptions. An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to ADHD revealed that fewer than half the claims about symptoms actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.

https://news.ubc.ca/2025/03/adhd-misinformation-on-tiktok/
27.8k Upvotes

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/Alty__McAltaccount 16d ago

What was the position?

64

u/AreGophers 16d ago

Trex arms is what I keep seeing.

73

u/Bay1Bri 16d ago

I saw a video that said sleeping with your wrist by your chin and your hand bent at the wrist towards your neck, you have autism. Which is ludicrous.

45

u/AnRealDinosaur 16d ago

I do that and I do not have autism. What I have is carpal tunnel :(

3

u/Bay1Bri 15d ago

What I have is carpal tunnel

Is that cause or effect?

3

u/bananosaurusrex 15d ago

Sleeping with bent wrist can cause carpal tunnel syndrome in some people. Sleeping with a wrist splint for a few weeks helps alot of patients, no injections or operation needed.

1

u/AnRealDinosaur 14d ago

Ive done both (wrist splint and injection) and they both wonders! I hate that my body wants to sleep like this because the pain wakes me up & I have to hang my arm off the side of the bed to get circulation back. The splints make it so you can't bend your wrist that way which is great, but I still needed the injection because of repetitive motion at work. Thankfully it worked & I have a better job now.

22

u/pannenkoek0923 16d ago

I am autistic and I do sleep like that, but I am not autistic because I sleep like that

3

u/chauceresque 16d ago

I sleep like that to keep my handkerchief close as I’m a chronic night sneezer

64

u/raptorclvb 16d ago

The trex arms to autism pipeline was wild and so many influencers also continue to spread this misinformation by making meme videos of it.

22

u/Brad_Brace 16d ago

Oh, it's T-Rex arms! I was reading this comments wondering what trex arms were!

3

u/Pksnc 15d ago

Thank you, I was seconds away from shouting across the house to ask my wife if she had ever heard of trex arms.

7

u/Bells4Hazel 16d ago

Was a massage therapist- all desk workers deal with t- Rex arms, in general we all do due to regular screen use and being desk workers.

8

u/FunGuy8618 16d ago

Isn't that very obviously an attempt to avoid accountability, though? Look at Kanye and Elon.

18

u/Alty__McAltaccount 16d ago

Maybe if you are a deck.

11

u/DucksEatFreeInSubway 16d ago

This'll fly under the radar but I appreciated the joke.

2

u/nobleland_mermaid 16d ago

It's usually half side-lying with one knee pulled up and one/both of your wrists tucked under your chin. I think it's actually called a half-stomach sleep position and they just kinda specify the wrist thing.

6

u/KovolKenai 16d ago

Inverse Cowgirl

2

u/Dick_of_Doom 16d ago

Read this as "insane cowgirl"

4

u/adaranyx 16d ago

The actual sleeping position x potential symptom point that has merit is the "t-rex arms" in conjunction with your shoulders/knees/hips kind of collapsing in without a lot of support (think hugging a body pillow, pillow between the knees, etc) and causing pain. That could be a sign of hypermobility, which is pretty highly comorbid with autism, and worth looking into if it causes you problems and you meet other criteria.

1

u/vinthedreamer 16d ago

on their back probably

1

u/insomniacpyro 16d ago

Bend over and I'll show you

1

u/TheBestPartylizard 16d ago

horizontally