New Research on the Complex Interaction of Sleep and ADHD

Abstract

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display higher rates of sleep problems such as bedtime resistance, sleep onset difficulties, night awakenings, difficulties with morning awakenings, sleep disordered breathing and daytime sleepiness. There has been a dramatic increase in new research of clinical significance to provide clinicians with the opportunity to better understand the association and possible causal relationships between sleep and ADHD. The objective of this paper is to provide an update on this literature over the past 3 years by examining any aspect of childhood ADHD and sleep and how it may inform clinical practice. As suggested by multiple lines of evidence, results from this review show that at the group level, there is a bidirectional impact of sleep and ADHD on each other and that both sleep and ADHD impairments may stem from common pathways. As hoped, effective intervention for either sleep or ADHD impacts both disorders thus opening the door to better treatment that goes beyond core symptoms to quality of life and functioning.