14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers in Finland have announced that the short sleep duration in children is very likely to cause symptoms related to the emergence of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), even if other complications are not present. They also warn that this is a very widespread problem, in that sleep durations around the world have begun to decrease. With the current economic downturn, things are poised to get much more worse, as people around the globe even now lose sleep time wondering about their financial state, or on account of a second job they take on, so as to be able to pay the bills.
The team has also cautioned that US children are at a very high risk of developing the condition, on account of the fact that, statistically speaking, more than a third of them sleep poorly, or too few hours per night. Basically, the new study from Finland has sought out to verify a scientifical hypothesis, which holds that the effects of sleep deprivation do not manifest in children as tiredness, but rather as physical and mental symptoms.
The results of their investigations have proven this line of reasoning correct, and the team say that the conclusions could help explain why such a large number of US teens is suffering from symptoms associated with ADHD.
“We were able to show that short sleep duration and sleeping difficulties are related to behavioral symptoms of ADHD, and we also showed that short sleep, per se, increases behavioral symptoms, regardless of the presence of sleeping difficulties. The findings suggest that maintaining adequate sleep schedules among children is likely to be important in preventing behavioral symptoms. However, even though inadequate sleep seems to owe potential to impair behavior and performance, intervention studies are needed to confirm the causality,” one of the Finnish researchers involved in the recent research, Juulia Paavonen, MD, PhD, explains.
In order to get these results, the investigation team tracked down the sleeping habits of 280 otherwise healthy children – 146 girls and 134 boys – whom they supervised through parent reporting, as well as through devices attached to the children's wrists, who were able to tell when the person wearing them was sleeping and when they were awake. Results showed that those who slumbered for less than an average of 7.7 hours per night were very likely to have a higher inattention score, and also to be more active than those who slept for longer than eight hours each night.