Is Sleep Related To ADHD?
There are many proposed ways to help with ADHD. Some require medication. But they have said that things like playing video games actually help with ADHD. There are entire books advertised on how to control mild ADHD. And they say that there are many other ways to achieve results. But now, they are saying that sleep may seriously impact problems with ADHD in children. They say that those with ADHD spend less time in the REM stages of sleep, and they have a significantly harder time falling asleep in the first place.
But in order to treat children with ADHD, like many other mental disorders, it can be essential to make sure that they get enough sleep. You should be strict about their bedtimes, make sure that they are actually going to bed, and take other precautions and steps to ensure that you are getting the bedtime results you want.
Sleep is by no means a miracle cure. There are many other underlying issues, and sleep or lack thereof does not cause ADHD. Rather the lack of sleep is a symptom, and it can only aggravate the already present problem. And about 25-50% of children are said to have sleeping problems, obviously not all of whom have problems with ADHD.
Studies have used portable polysomnagraphy machines to measure sleep in children with the disorder and about 23 children without. They found that when they slept in their own beds, and they also of course used questionnaires among the parents to get a real idea of how they usually sleep, those who had ADHD, and none of them were taking medications for this problem at the time of the study, had a harder time falling asleep. The control group spent about 19% of their sleep time in REM compared to about 17% for children with ADHD.
It is not 100% clear why they may have a clear problem with this particular issue. But when it comes to children with ADHD, you will find that sleep as I said before, can contribute to the greater problem with ADHD and other disorders. Therefore, it is important to set up relatively strict sleeping schedules and other programs that will help your children to get the sleep they need and otherwise fulfill their individual needs to deal with this growing problem.