What if, as a growing number of researchers are proposing, many kids today simply aren't getting the sleep they need, leading to challenging behaviours that mimic ADHD?
That provocative and controversial theory has been gaining momentum in recent years, with several studies suggesting strong links between ADHD and the length, timing and quality of sleep.
It showed that study subjects with ADHD had levels of the hormone melatonin that rose 1.5 hours later in the night than those without ADHD. As a result, they fell asleep later and got less sleep overall, with consequences for other body processes.
- What about ADHD in adults?
- Is ADHD really a disease?
- If ADHD exists and is real, is it actually a disadvantage or an advantage in today's society?
My opinion is that the merit of the public school system itself should be questioned in today's fast changing culture. It could be the case that ADHD is not a disadvantage anymore because children are not required to sit in a factory style academic environment to be trained for a factory job which won't even exist to begin with. It may be time to rethink the education system instead of just trying to figure out "what's wrong with the children".
The article overall is very speculative about how sleep deterioration is associated with ADHD but it doesn't in my opinion produce a direct casual link. It also doesn't necessarily help people who have ADHD if it is a sleep disorder.