Experts: ADHD may be caused by lack of sleep

ADHD, the disorder that affects children’s ability to concentrate and results in disruptive behaviour, might simply be the result of them not getting enough sleep, leading scientists believe.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is exacerbated by bad habits such as not getting to sleep early and using mobiles or tablets before bed, they say.

The theory, being proposed at a scientific conference in Paris this weekend, will fuel the belief that ADHD is caused – or at least aggravated – by poor parenting.

Professor Sandra Kooij, of VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam, said: ‘It looks more and more like ADHD and sleeplessness are two sides of the same physiological and mental coin.’ About threequarters of people diagnosed with ADHD have a ‘circadian’ (day-night) rhythm which is delayed by about an hour and a half, she said. That meant they felt alert later into the evening than others – and got to sleep later – but then felt sleepier well into the morning.

Prof. Kooij, who is speaking at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Paris today, said: ‘It raises the intriguing question: does ADHD cause sleeplessness, or does sleeplessness cause ADHD?’