New evidence suggests that ADHD is actually a sleep disorder
What if, as a growing number of researchers are proposing, many kids today simply aren't getting the sleep they need, leading to challenging behaviours that mimic ADHD?
That provocative and controversial theory has been gaining momentum in recent years, with several studies suggesting strong links between ADHD and the length, timing and quality of sleep.
It showed that study subjects with ADHD had levels of the hormone melatonin that rose 1.5 hours later in the night than those without ADHD. As a result, they fell asleep later and got less sleep overall, with consequences for other body processes.
- What about ADHD in adults?
- Is ADHD really a disease?
- If ADHD exists and is real, is it actually a disadvantage or an advantage in today's society?
My opinion is that the merit of the public school system itself should be questioned in today's fast changing culture. It could be the case that ADHD is not a disadvantage anymore because children are not required to sit in a factory style academic environment to be trained for a factory job which won't even exist to begin with. It may be time to rethink the education system instead of just trying to figure out "what's wrong with the children".
The article overall is very speculative about how sleep deterioration is associated with ADHD but it doesn't in my opinion produce a direct casual link. It also doesn't necessarily help people who have ADHD if it is a sleep disorder.
I'd be curious to see how the conditions in this study correlate with chronotypes I.e. Early birds vs night owls. Are children with adhd just mismatched to their sleep schedule based on schools being biased in favor of early birds?
I wold be interested to know if it relates to all types of ADHD also. In my personal experience there is not just one level. I remember 30 years ago or so there were school systems that just used ADHD as a blanket for all students that did not stay interested in whatever the teacher was teaching. The ones that really did have ADHD didn’t receive the diagnosis and help that they needed to thrive. If they have linked sleep to this I would be interested to see a longer term positive study showing the results. Thanks for sharing.
Very interesting post. Surely didn't hear anything about this when my children came along in the 60's but now so many are diagnosed. How can this be?
For a very long time I have believed that school timing should be pushed forward, I am glad to see a scientific reasoning to support this idea! Thanks for sharing!
"Over the past two decades, US parents and teachers have reported epidemic levels of children with trouble focusing, impulsive behaviour and so much energy that they are bouncing off walls."
As a parent of four children, my view is that ADHD is the result of the amazing increase in sugar intake of children the last twenty years. Not to mention big Pharma making so much money on all those prescription ...
I have seen so many children "crash" after consuming sugar all day and sleep very fitfully, to the point that now children have prescriptions for "melatonin" I believe, for "night terrors". Again, another big Pharma money maker.
So, a definite link to a sleep disorder, sounds reasonable, but I again think that most if not all cases are from sugar intake.
As usual, a wonderful thought provoking post. Thank you.
Read More, Reason More ... JTS