Sleep Deprivation Increases Symptoms of ADHD

Recent research is beginning to show that some children with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, may also have issues with sleep deprivation. ADHD affects a significant number of children in the United States, and while the disorder alone is something that can really affect a family and lend for some trying times without medical treatment, when you add sleep deprivation to the mix, things can get difficult for all involved.

Studies have shown that sleep is very important for children, and that lack of sleep can be detrimental to the learning process. A study performed by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, released March 1 in the journal SLEEP, shows that many children suffering from ADHD may also be chronically sleep deprived and have sporatic REM sleep patterns. The new study evaluated 15 children suffering from ADHD who did not have comorbid psychiatric problems and 23 healthy children, all ranging in age from seven to eleven and not taking any medication. Researchers requested the children avoid caffeine for seven days prior to the study. The researchers were able to monitor the children in their own homes through portable polysomnography sleep recorders that recorded their overnight behavior. The children’s parents also completed a 113-item questionnaire that helped to detail each child’s behavior and emotional challenges. Researchers assessed the children while holding their socioeconomic status and parents’ marital status constant.

Dr. Reut Gruber, Director of the Attention, Behavior and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Medical Health University Institute said, “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. 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.”

The study resulted in the children with ADHD sleeping 33 minutes less than the average time slept by the healthy children, not suffering from ADHD. The ADHD group also tallied 16 minutes less REM (rapid eye movement) sleep times than the healthy group. As previous studies have shown, sleep disruption can lead to symptoms seen in children with ADHD, such as concentration problems.

Based on the new study, ADHD children may suffer from sleep problems, which could reflect other underlying problems and further research is needed. Researchers will need to delve into the research and take things a little further, to determine if shorter sleep times in children with ADHD may lead to behavioral and neurocognitive problems. If researchers can determine a link or the cause of sleep deprivation in ADHD children, then they may be able to develop a therapeutic treatment to help the children sleep better.