Disordered Sleep Tied to ADHD in Children

New research has tied an underlying sleep disorder to ADHD in children.

A recent study published in this month's issue of the journal Sleep offers further evidence that children with ADHD may have chronic sleep deprivation and irregular REM sleep.

The study found that kids with ADHD sleep an average of eight hours and nineteen minutes. This sleep time was thirty-three minutes less than that of children without ADHD. The children in the control group slept an average of eight hours and 52 minutes.

In addition, the researchers discovered that kids with ADHD spend less time, about 16 minutes on average, in REM sleep than non-ADHD children.

"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," explained the study's main author, Dr. Reut Gruber of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.