Could ADHD Really be Lack of Sleep – Part 3

March 8th, 2010 Posted in Mental Health

In our past discussions we have looked deeper in to the true issue of ADD/ADHD
misdiagnosis. It all comes down to the fact that it is crucial to
look deeper for other possible answers to the symptoms resembling ADD before just accepting
diagnosis. This is because it is, sadly, often the case that those making a positive
diagnosis have a vested interest in doing so.  In some cases an ADD/ADHD misdiagnosis could be due to some rather unusual explanations (For example: Some kinds of bacteria mimic the effects of ADD/ADHD, more on this next week). In other cases the explanations are rather more mundane. It cannot be more on target than in regard to the amount of sleep on the behavior and general well-being of the child. Throughout the centuries mothers have been telling us how their children’s behavior has gotten worse for every hour of sleep that they loose. It turns out that modern science is confirming this bit ‘folk wisdom’.

One of the most interesting pieces of research on the effects of a lack of proper sleep is particularly relevant for our discussion of ADD/ADHD misdiagnosis. The Finnish nationa lInstitute of Health and Welfare along with the Univeristy of Helsinki ran the research. The study took 280 healthy children that were seven to eight years old and intensely watched their sleeping behavior. The simple question was the following: Are healthy children who get too little sleep more likely to display the symptoms generally associated with ADD/ADHD? The simple answer: Absolutely!

Researchers measured the sleeping patterns of the children who participated in the study in two ways, one subjective and the other objective. For the “subjective” section parents were asked to complete a panel of questions regarding their children’s daily sleep habits. In addition to that they tried to note how long the children slept each night for seven straight days.This was accomplished by having them wear montiors to measure their movement to see how long they really rested.

A commonly used method to diagnosis ADD/ADHD was also used as the parents were asked to note other areas of their child’s behavior aside from just sleep. The results of this research strike a powerful blow for common sense. It can be summarized as follows:

• Most parents seriously overestimate the time that their children actually rest. This is because they do not ‘factor in’ the time that they spend falling asleep or when they lie awake for prolonged periods.
• Children with average sleep durations of less than 7.7 hours scored higher in hyper and impulsive behavior when measured by the monitors. This means that they would be much more likely to be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

This study is one of the first that actually confirms something all parents know almost instinctively: Lack of sleep leads to little Johnny ‘acting out’ the next morning! If this continues over a few weeks a trend gets established and Johnny is at serious risk of being labeled as ADD/ADHD!

Dr. Juulia Paavonen who was in charge of the study lays her finger securely on both this problem and its solution: “We were able to show that short sleep duration and sleeping difficulties are related to behavioral symptoms of ADHD. The results showed that keeping a normal sleep schedule for children plays a major part in avoiding many of the behavioral symtoms. Even [an extra] 30 minutes per night has been shown to give a major improvement in objective cognitive tests, improving reaction times, impulsivity and attention spans.”

With all the evidence presented it becomes obvious that before looking for the ADD/ADHD diagnosis a thorough parent should make sure that their child is getting enough sleep each night. It is difficult to pin an exact figure on ‘enough’ as the amount of sleep needed for optimum performance will differ from person to person. Eight hours and more should nonetheless be seen as a very good benchmark to work from. It could very well be that your child will need their sleep time increased, but the chance that they will need less is almost zero.

Helping children to ‘make the numbers’ when it comes to sleep can be very difficult but it is a discipline that you will have to learn. A bit of planning and the establishment of a firm bedtime routine could help you in this regard. The results of experiencing good behavior is a large payoff. It could even be that paying attention to sleeping patterns is the one thing that helps you to avoid the radical and life changing consequences of a formal ADD/ADHD diagnosis. The next time you face the ADD/ADHD symptoms that include impulsive behavior and extreme hyperactivity take a few days to get enough sleep for everyone before making any decisions!