The real root cause of ADD/ADHD has been looked at in our past articles
misdiagnosis. It all comes down to the fact that it is crucial to
research alternative explanations for ‘ADD like symptoms’ before meekly accepting a
diagnosis. This is because it is, sadly, often the case that those making a positive
diagnosis have a vested interest in doing so.Bacterial infections and other extreme causes have also been known to cause ADD/ADHD type of behavior which we will discuss in more detail next time. Other situations have a root cause that is much more boring. It cannot be more on target than in regard to the amount of sleep on the behavior and general well-being of the child. Throughout the centuries mothers have been telling us how their children’s behavior has gotten worse for every hour of sleep that they loose. It turns out that modern science is confirming this bit ‘folk wisdom’.

One of the most interesting things that came out of the research was how the lack of sleep actually impacts those diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. The Finnish nationa lInstitute of Health and Welfare along with the Univeristy of Helsinki ran the research. The study took 280 healthy children that were seven to eight years old and intensely watched their sleeping behavior. The simple question was the following: Are healthy children who get too little sleep more likely to display the symptoms generally associated with ADD/ADHD? The simple answer: Absolutely!

Researchers measured the sleeping patterns of the children who participated in the study in two ways, one subjective and the other objective. In an effort to be subjective the parents completed a list of questions concerning their child’s sleep patterns on a normal day; for a week the child’s sleep patterns were watched and noted to complete the testing.This was accomplished by having them wear montiors to measure their movement to see how long they really rested.

In addition to the tracking of sleeping patterns the parents were also asked to rate aspects of their children’s behavior using a measure that is commonly used in the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. The results of this research strike a powerful blow for common sense. It can be summarized as follows:

• Most parents seriously overestimate the time that their children actually rest. The time when they are trying to fall alseep or are just laying there are not taken into consideration.
• Children with average sleep durations of less than 7.7 hours that were measured by the monitors showed higher test results when looking at impulsive and hyper behavior. The result is a higher chance of ADD/ADHD being the diagnosis.

For the first time ever a study has supported what parents have known for years: Sleep deprivation leads to bad behavior! If this continues over a few weeks a trend gets established and Johnny is at serious risk of being labeled as ADD/ADHD!

Dr. Juulia Paavonen who was in charge of the study lays her finger securely on both this problem and its solution: “We were able to show that short sleep duration and sleeping difficulties are related to behavioral symptoms of ADHD. The findings suggest that maintaining adequate sleep schedules among children is likely to be important in preventing behavioral symptoms. Even [an extra] 30 minutes per night has been shown to give a major improvement in objective cognitive tests, improving reaction times, impulsivity and attention spans.”

The parent reading this should be able to see that with all that has already been mentioned that investigating the amount of sleep should come before being diagnosed ADD/ADHD. It is difficult to pin an exact figure on ‘enough’ as the amount of sleep needed for optimum performance will differ from person to person. Eight hours and more should nonetheless be seen as a very good benchmark to work from. It could very well be that your child will need their sleep time increased, but the chance that they will need less is almost zero.

Helping children to ‘make the numbers’ when it comes to sleep can be very difficult but it is a discipline that you will have to learn. A bit of planning and the establishment of a firm bedtime routine could help you in this regard. Having behavior become more manageable is a huge result. It could even be that paying attention to sleeping patterns is the one thing that helps you to avoid the radical and life changing consequences of a formal ADD/ADHD diagnosis. So next time you deal with problems of hyperactivity and impulsiveness your first response should perhaps be to ‘sleep on it’ before doing anything else!

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