Therapist Unlimited Blog

According to a latest research, those children who suffer from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more likely to have current and lifetime sleep problems and disorders, regardless of the severity of current ADHD symptoms.
Based on the data gathered from the research, it was learned that adolescents with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD, regardless of persistent ADHD were more likely to have current sleep problems and sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep terrors, nightmares, bruxism and snoring.
The data gathered in the study showed that 17 percent of children with ADHD were currently suffering from primary insomnia, versus 7 percent of controls; lifetime primary insomnia occurred in 20 percent of children with ADHD, compared to 10 percent of controls.
It was also shown in the information gathered by the researchers that nightmare disorder affected 11 percent of children with ADHD and lifetime nightmare disorder affected 23 percent, versus 5 and 16 percent of controls.
The researchers also observed that the presence of at least one psychiatric comorbid condition increases the risks for insomnia and nightmares.
Dr. Susan Shur-Fen Gau, MD, PhD, associate professor at the College of Medicine and Public Health, National Taiwan University who conducted the study, explained symptoms and consequences of
ADHD and sleep problems in children often overlap.

Those people suffering from ADHD while still young need to be careful since they are at risk of suffering from a sleep disorder in adult life.

Gau revealed some primary sleep disorders are found to be associated with inattention, hyperactivity, behavioural problems and impaired academic performance, which are often mistaken for symptoms of ADHD.
She said the data were collected from 281 consecutive patients (86.2 percent male) between the ages of 10 to 17 years who had been diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria at a mean age of 6.7 years, and 185 controls that did not have ADHD as a child or teen.
She added diagnosis of ADHD was made based on information obtained from parent and child interviews, observation of the child’s behaviours, and rating scales reported by parents and teachers.
Moreover, Gau said the findings of the study indicated that the rates of nightmare and lifetime nightmare disorder were more prevalent in girls and snoring was more prevalent in boys.
The medical expert explained snoring might be more prevalent in boys due to an increased rate of sleep-disordered breathing in boys.
Gau said the research has shown that mothers were found to be more aware of symptoms related to ADHD in the presence of primary insomnia, sleep terror disorder or sleepwalking disorder, whereas teachers may be more sensitive to ADHD symptoms in the presence of primary hypersomnia and nightmare disorder.