ChristiansUnite Forums

Study Indicates ADHD Children May Just Need Sleep, Not Medication

by Jim Brown
October 6, 2005

(AgapePress) - A study by Israeli researchers shows treatment of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders in children can lead to a significant reduction in symptoms associated with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The study found that children diagnosed with ADHD had much higher levels of sleeplessness during the day than did non-ADHD youngsters. Dr. Giora Pillar is head of the Pediatric Sleep Lab at the largest hospital in northern Israel, and an associate professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, which conducted the study.

Pillar says sleep apnea or sleep disturbances can lead to daytime sleepiness -- and children who are sleep throughout the day do not fall asleep unintentionally like adults, but rather become hyperactive.

"They start to be fidgety and nervous, and these are actually the symptoms of ADHD," Dr. Pillar explains. "[W]hen you treat [and correct] the sleep problem, they all of a sudden become more alert during the day. They are more focused, they can concentrate better, they behave better -- and their symptoms of ADHD are actually relieved."

Pillar and his team studied 66 children with an average age of 12, 34 of whom had already been diagnosed with ADHD. The remainder served as a control group. The researchers found the ADHD-diagnosed children had significantly higher levels of sleepiness during the day than those in the control group.

According to Pillar, children with even mild sleep deprivation can develop symptoms of ADHD. And ADHD-diagnosed children, he adds, often just need quality sleep instead of medication. But he emphasizes that drugs like Ritalin -- a common treatment for ADHD -- do have their place.

"We are not against Ritalin. We think that Ritalin is a very good and appropriate medication when indicated," the researcher says. "But in cases when the ADHD is secondary to sleep problems like sleep apnea, then children should not get Ritalin in the morning, but rather [treatment for] the sleep disorder in the evening."

For example, he says if children diagnosed with ADHD kick their legs frequently or periodically during the night, they may have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, which has relatively better treatment than Ritalin. The researchers urge parents to apply other treatments -- such as enforcement of good sleeping habits and restriction from caffeinated drinks at night -- before considering medication.

The research team's findings were published in the February 2004 issue of the journal SLEEP.

Read related article from the American Technion Society
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion03428.shtml

Additional information on ChristiansUnite.com is available on the Internet at http://www.christiansunite.com/
Copyright © 2003 ChristiansUnite.com. All rights reserved.

This makes complete sense to me. My children and now my grandchildren have always displayed symptoms of ADHD when they get tired. Getting them some sleep has always helped. Fortunately we have been able to do this without the aid of medications.

I have a neighbor friend that has a child with severe ADHD. I will have to present this information to him to see if it may be of some help to his child.

Thank you, brother for posting this.

blackeyedpeas,

Great article!  Thanks for posting it.

Mark
http://blog.colossians2.com/ (http://ark
http://blog.colossians2.com/)

Hello Mstrohm,

You are most welcome. I'm thinking the same thing now that I did when I first read this article. We live in a time where folks throw pills and money at everything, but many of the real answers are exceptionally simple. I must add that the REAL answers for many problems are in the Holy Bible. JESUS is the biggest cure for what really ails mankind.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Hebrews 10:19-23 NASB  Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Hi angelmom,

My sons who are now 18 and 25, went through a lot of this at an early age. The more tired they got the more they disobeyed and the angrier they got. There were several things that we did.

1. Insured that he had plenty of exercise so that he would be physically tired as well as sleepy.

2. Gave him rest time an hour or so before bed time so that he could "wind down" properly from the day.

3. Watched his diet closely. No caffiene, little surgar and no surgar for several hours before bed time. After a lot of experimentation we found that certain foods affected his behaviour besides caffiene and sugar products. Strawberries was one of these for him. They seemed to make him sleep less.

4. During anger fits I would take them into my arms, hold them, tell them how much I loved them but that this behaviour was unacceptable and would not be allowed. Be prepared in case they decide to get violent with you in this instance. I would have to hold the arms down to their side with my arms and position his legs just right so he couldn't kick me with the one child. He would even try to hit me with his head so I would have to hold him in a manner to prevent him from head butting me also. This needs to be done just right so that neither the child nor the parent gets hurt.

5. Consistancy in what is expected of them and in the consequences if they did not behave properly.


I found that number 2 and 4 above gave time with that child (nurturing) that the child needed. It was an excellant time to read from the Bible, play some calming Christian music or other general family time. Occassionally it would have to done with the child crying or screaming at first but the child eventually gave that up and it turned into a very enjoyable time for all.


Not all these things may work for you. Each child is different and requires different handling. And remember, you are the parent they are the child. You lay the rules not the child. Giving the child to many choices in matters at an early age gives the child the indication that they make the rules. It is just as God gives us the example in the Bible. He makes the rules and we follow. He punishes or rewards accordingly. That is another subject ....  rewards.

There is so much to cover in parenting it is not possible to cover it all in this short post. I am glad to see that you are getting good Christian counselling with your child. It is very important.

Thanks Pastor Roger,
 I am so thankful for the input on this situation. The days are hard and somedays I just want to give up but I do love my kids to much to do that. Nobody said being a parent was easy and boy am I finding that out.Just keep praying that GOD will give my husband and I the dtrenght to get through this together and in a GODLY manner.

angelmom

Amen sister. Like anything worth while it takes work.

My prayers are with your whole family.