Children with ADHD symptoms may need more sleep

• Children who have symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) actually may be sleep-deprived, according to researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Sleep Laboratory.
• An estimated 8 percent of US children suffer from ADHD, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, and more than half of them are being treated with drugs.
• ADHD is characterized by overalertness and nervousness, with affected children being fidgety and overstimulated.
• Paradoxically, the use of stimulant medications like Ritalin seems to be the most effective method for treating ADHD symptoms in the majority of children.
• Their excessive motor activity could be a tool to stay alert, he conjectured, which might explain the effectiveness of stimulants that increase activity in the central nervous system.
• "Sleepy children, unlike sleepy adults, may demonstrate hyperactivity and attention-deficit behavior rather than excessive daytime sleepiness," Pillar explained.
• The ADHD-diagnosed children had significantly higher levels of sleepiness during the day than those in the control group, the researchers found.
• Half of the test subjects with ADHD (vs. 22 percent of the control group) suffered from some degree of sleep-disordered breathing, such as sleep apnea, which is characterized by interruptions in breathing that last 10 seconds or more, occurring at least five times per hour during sleep.
• Fifteen percent (vs. none in the control group) had Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD), which is relatively uncommon among children.
• For example, school performance, which is low in children with sleep apnea, has been found to improve markedly following the removal of adenoids and tonsils to correct the disorder.
• The researchers urge parents of hyperactive and attention-deficit children diagnosed with sleep disorders to have breathing irregularities and limb movements treated, to enforce good sleeping habits, and to avoid giving them caffeinated drinks at night.