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Review
. 2020 Aug:34:50-56.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.09.006. Epub 2019 Sep 20.

ADHD and sleep: recent advances and future directions

Stephen P Becker  1
Affiliations
Review

ADHD and sleep: recent advances and future directions

Stephen P Becker. Curr Opin Psychol. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness, and/or circadian rhythm abnormalities. This article reviews recent advancements and key future directions: examining group differences across the life span, advancing a developmental psychopathology perspective, moving from correlation to causation, conceptualizing ADHD as a 24-hour disorder, understanding sleep in relation to other health behaviors, and evaluating sleep in interventions for individuals with ADHD. This is an exciting time in the empirical study and clinical care of sleep disturbances and circadian rhythm alterations in individuals with ADHD. As research continues to advance, studies are increasingly using large samples and longitudinal/experimental research designs to test hypotheses that will ultimately allow for a more robust and sophisticated understanding of sleep and ADHD.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Number of publications between 1970 and 2018 that include sleep and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the title
Note. Search conducted in PubMed on May 31, 2019. Search set to identify any publication with sleep and ADHD (or related terms such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, attention deficit disorder, hyperkinetic disorder, or hyperkinetic reaction of childhood) in the publication title (total publication N = 10,632).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hiscock H, Sciberras E (Ed): Sleep and ADHD: An evidence-based guide to assessment and treatment San Diego, CA: Elsevier/Academic Press; 2019.
    1. Cortese S, Faraone SV, Konofal E, Lecendreux M: Sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Meta-analysis of subjective and objective studies. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2009, 48:894–908. - PubMed
    1. Crowley SJ, Wolfson AR, Tarokh L, Carskadon MA: An update on adolescent sleep: New evidence informing the perfect storm model. J Adolesc 2018, 67:55–65. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lunsford-Avery JR, Krystal AD, Kollins SH: Sleep disturbances in adolescents with ADHD: A systematic review and framework for future research. Clin Psychol Rev 2016, 50:159–174. - PMC - PubMed

    1. Becker SP, Langberg JM, Eadeh HM, Isaacson PA, Bourchtein E: Sleep and daytime sleepiness in adolescents with and without ADHD: Differences across ratings, daily diary, and actigraphy. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2019.

      • This is the largest study to date to examine sleep and sleepiness in adolescents with and without ADHD, using multiple informants and sleep measures. The sample was comprised of eighth-grade adolescents (mean age = 13 years) with (n = 162) and without (n = 140) ADHD recruited from two sites in the United States. Ratings were collected from adolescents, parents, and teachers, and adolescents wore an actigraph and completed a daily sleep diary for approximately two weeks. Comapred to adolescents without ADHD, adolescents with ADHD were more likely to report falling asleep in class and to have stayed up all night at least twice in the previous two weeks. When controlling for several variables known to impact sleep, ADHD remained associated with shorter diary and actigraphy school night sleep duration, adolescent- and parent-reported daytime sleepiness, and parent-reported difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep and total sleep disturbance. Controlling for other variables, the odds of being classified with clinically elevated parent-reported sleep disturbance were 6.20 times greater for adolescents with ADHD.

Publication types