ADHD kids 'have less REM sleep'

GP newspaper,
06 March 2009, 00:00am

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with shorter sleep duration and shorter periods of REM sleep, an overnight recording study suggests.

Researchers from McGill University carried out polysomnography recordings on children sleeping in their own beds at home.

Fifteen of the children, who were seven to 11 years old, had been diagnosed with ADHD and 23 acted as healthy controls.

Compared with controls, children with ADHD spent less time asleep in total and they spent a smaller proportion of total sleep time in REM sleep.

Previous studies have suggested that ADHD may be linked to sleep disturbances. This is the first study, however, to measure sleep patterns of children with ADHD sleeping at home.

tom.moberly@haymarket.com