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. 2013 Dec;23(10):640-7.
doi: 10.1089/cap.2013.0059. Epub 2013 Nov 21.

To sleep or not to sleep: a systematic review of the literature of pharmacological treatments of insomnia in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Jessica R Barrett  1 , Derek K Tracy, Giovanni Giaroli
Affiliations

To sleep or not to sleep: a systematic review of the literature of pharmacological treatments of insomnia in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Jessica R Barrett et al. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review assessed current evidence on sleep medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients, to establish appropriate guidance for clinicians faced with prescribing such medications.

Methods: Five articles (based on four pharmacological compounds) out of a total 337 were identified as evidence to guide pharmacological treatment of ADHD-related sleep disorders. Data regarding participant characteristics, measures of ADHD diagnosis, measures of sleep, and outcome data were extracted.

Results: Zolpidem and L-theanine both displayed a poor response in reducing sleep latency and increasing total sleep time, however L-theanine did produce an increase in sleep efficiency. Zolpidem produced high levels of side effects, leading to the largest dropout rate of all five studies. Clonidine reduced insomnia; and melatonin also exhibited a positive response, with reduced sleep latency, higher total sleep time, and higher sleep efficiency.

Conclusions: There is a relative paucity of evidence for the pharmacological treatment of ADHD-related sleep disorders; therefore, further research should be conducted to replicate these findings and obtain reliable results.

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Figures

<b>FIG. 1.</b>
FIG. 1.
Diagram depicting the selection process of articles through literature databases, and the separate stages of exclusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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