A modest extension in sleep duration was associated with significant improvement in alertness and emotional regulation, whereas a modest sleep restriction had opposite effects.

The present findings support the hypothesis that children with ADHD present sleep disturbances.

PurposePediatric, clinical, and research data suggest that insufficient sleep causes tiredness and daytime difficulties in terms of attention-focusing, learning, and impulse modulation in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or in those with ADHD and primary sleep disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine whether sleep duration was associated with ADHD-like symptoms in healthy, well-developing school-aged children.Patients and methodsThirty-five healthy children (20 boys, 15 girls), aged 7–11 years participated in the present study. Each child wore an actigraphic device on their nondominant wrist for two nights prior to use of polysomnography to assess their typical sleep periods. On the third night, sleep was recorded via ambulatory assessment of sleep architecture in the child’s natural sleep environment employing portable polysomnography equipment. Teachers were asked to report symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity on the revised Conners Teacher Rating Scale.ResultsShorter sleep duration was associated with higher levels of teacher-reported ADHD-like symptoms in the domains of cognitive problems and inattention. No significant association between sleep duration and hyperactivity symptoms was evident.ConclusionShort sleep duration was found to be related to teacher-derived reports of ADHD-like symptoms of inattention and cognitive functioning in healthy children.

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