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Earlier Sleep Onset May Improve Hyperactivity/Inattention Symptoms in Some Children
Delayed sleep onset was significantly associated with symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention in children with a low genetic risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a birth cohort of 8- and 9-year-olds. Researchers published their findings in JAMA Network Open.
“Our data suggest that evaluating sleeping habits, especially sleep onset, is essential to avoid overdiagnosis of ADHD,” wrote lead author Nagahide Takahashi, MD, PhD, of Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan, and coauthors. “Our findings also partially support the hypothesis that delayed circadian rhythm is a possible cause of ‘late-onset ADHD.’”
The study included 835 children, 408 boys and 427 girls, from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children. Researchers looked at sleep problems (sleep duration, sleep latency, nighttime awakening, and delayed sleep onset), polygenic risk scores for ADHD, and hyperactivity/inattention symptoms as measured by the Japanese version of the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale in the children.
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Of the 4 sleep parameters assessed, delayed sleep onset alone was associated with hyperactivity and inattention—and only in children with a low genetic risk for ADHD, the study found. Children with a medium or high genetic risk for ADHD demonstrated no links between delayed sleep onset, defined as 10 PM or later, and symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention.
“[O]ur data imply that early sleep onset may improve subthreshold hyperactivity/inattention symptoms in children,” researchers advised.
A lack of information on participant use of medications for ADHD symptoms was a limitation of the study, the authors wrote.
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