Sleep problems common in children with ADHD

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who don't take medication often have sleep disturbances characterised by difficulty falling asleep and short durations of sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.Clinicians have reported sleep problems in an estimated 25 to 50 percent of children with ADHD, and treatment of sleep problems has been shown to improve behaviour and decrease the need for stimulant medication in children with ADHD.To compare sleep architecture in children with and without ADHD, researchers from Canada conducted standard overnight multichannel polysomnography evaluations performed at each child's home using a portable polysomnography device. The 15 children with ADHD and 23 normal comparison children without ADHD (controls), between 7 and 11 years, were not taking medications and had not consumed caffeine for at least a week prior to the test.According to the results, those with ADHD averaged significantly less total sleep time (499 min) compared with the control group (533 min). They also had reduced REM sleep (84 min v/s 100 min), and a smaller percentage of REM sleep out of total sleep time (17 percent v/s 19 percent). Parental questionnaire responses indicated significantly more problems with sleep onset delay, sleep anxiety, and insufficient sleep as indicated by daytime sleepiness.The findings suggest the children with ADHD have a delay in their circadian rhythm, or internal time clock that keeps them from being on a regular sleep cycle. Until further research, the researchers advise physicians to assess sleep and signs of daytime fatigue in children with ADHD. If this is the case, a thorough investigation should be made and recommendations should be tailored to each individual child.