Future Research Directions in Sleep and ADHD

Abstract

An enhanced understanding of the complex mechanisms regulating sleep promotion, wakefulness, and attention may contribute to new insights regarding the core impairments in ADHD and lead to the development of new therapies.

Advancing a Biopsychosocial and Contextual Model of Sleep in Adolescence: A Review and Introduction to the Special Issue

“…; and (3) Are children with ADHD more vulnerable to the effects of sleep loss? (see Owens et al 2013). We posit that a biopsychosocial and contextual framework is well-positioned to help answer these questions and advance what is currently known about the interrelations of sleep and ADHD in adolescence.…”

“…In fact, the most recent meta-analysis examining the sleep functioning of youth with ADHD in comparison to typically developing youth identified only three studies with participants above age 14 years, with all three of these studies using a cross-sectional design (Cortese et al 2009). In identifying the need to spur research in this area, a multidisciplinary group of experts in sleep and ADHD was recently formed to develop a consensus working group report to guide future research on sleep and ADHD (Owens et al 2013). This group developed a list of key future research questions which included: (1) How might an enhanced understanding of the interrelationships among systems help elucidate neural mechanisms linking attention, sleep-wake regulation, and behavior?…”

“…As summarized by Owens et al (2013), ''the cortical and brain stem regions involved in the regulation of arousal and attention and the most sensitive to sleep deprivation are also among the major sites implicated in the pathophysiology of ADHD'' (p. 555). In the frontal lobes, the PFC shows the greatest change as individuals transition from waking to sleeping states (Braun et al 1997) and is thus particularly vulnerable to sleep loss (Curcio et al 2006;Muzur et al 2002).…”

Comparative Study between the use of Melatonin and A Solution with Melatonin, Tryptophan, and Vitamin B6 as an Inducer of Spontaneous Sleep in Children During an Auditory Response Test: An Alternative to Commonly Used Sedative Drugs

“…It has proven to be effective in regulating the sleep/wake rhythm in children with neurological or psychiatric disorders (e.g. autism, ADHD) [20] at a dose of 3-6 mg every night.…”

Difficult to Bed and Difficult to Rise: Complex Interplay Among ADHD, Sleep, and Adolescence

“…Despite the large body of research examining sleep and ADHD, our understanding of this association is far from being put to bed, so to speak. Recently, research has shifted away from simply documenting differences in sleep functioning between individuals with and without ADHD, which while important (Cortese, Faraone, Konofal, & Lecendreux, 2009;De Crescenzo et al, 2016) does little to inform our understanding of the causes, correlates, and consequences of these sleep difficulties Kirov & Brand, 2014;Owens et al, 2013). An emerging body of research using longitudinal methodologies (Becker, Langberg, & Evans, 2015;Gregory, Agnew-Blais, Matthews, Moffitt, & Arseneault, 2016;Langberg, Dvorsky, Becker, & Molitor, 2014;Lycett, Mensah, Hiscock, & Sciberras, 2014;Mulraney, Giallo, Lycett, Mensah, & Sciberras, 2016) is revealing that the associations between sleep and ADHD are complex, and that the clinical implications of sleep difficulties in individuals with ADHD likely vary across development.…”