Sleep Patterns in Children and Adolescents With ADHD: Impact on Cognitive Functions and Quality of Life

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood, affecting 3 -5% children & adolescent worldwide . Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness are the major ADHD symptoms based on the diagnostic criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Fifth Edition .

Sleep has been referred to as a "window to the central nervous system", owing to its close associations with many other neurophysiological variables. Children are highly vulnerable to sleep disruptions in early childhood, perhaps due to the complexity of the sleep process and children's reliance on caregivers for achieving and maintaining sleep .

The relationship between sleep and ADHD is a complex process and has gained renewed interest since clinicians and researchers observed that sleep-related problems and complaints are relatively common among children with ADHD .Previous studies have shown that About 25-50% of children and adolescents with ADHD have sleep disorders , including nocturnal awakenings, phase delay, increased night time activity and insomnia.

Evaluation of sleep problems in child &adolescent clinical settings is commonly lacking, often unrecognized and go untreated in clinical setting. So, Untreated sleep disturbances and sleep disorders pose significant adverse daytime consequences and place children at considerable risk for poor health outcomes . Sleep disturbances impair a child's cognitive functioning and contribute to problems with school attendance and performance .