Sleep linked to ADHD symptoms in children

Canadian researchers have linked sleep to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The study, published in the journal Sleep, found average total sleep time was 33 minutes shorter in ADHD children than in controls. Average rapid eye movement sleep time was also reduced in children with ADHD by 16 minutes.

I do not believe that sleep per se is the cause of ADHD but it may make the symptoms worse in children with sleep problems, lead author Reut Gruber of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, an affiliate of McGill University, said in a statement.

There are reports in the literature in which treating sleep problems led to improvement in ADHD symptoms but I suspect that these results were seen in children with sleep apnea. More research needs to be done in order to determine if sleep affects ADHD children with no primary sleep disorder.

Gruber said the validity of the study was increased by getting a better representation of natural sleep patterns by measuring sleep in the children’s beds at home using polysomnography sleep recorders.

Also, the study of 15 ADHD children and 23 controls controlled for many confounding factors — including behavior and emotional problems, pubertal development and socioeconomic status.