Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (A.D.H.D) is something that many parents are familiar with regarding their children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children who have been diagnosed with A.D.H.D. may not be an accurate one. When children experience sleep deprivation, they become wired, moody; they may have trouble focusing, sitting still and getting along with their peers. These symptoms mimic the children who have A.D.H.D. and the drugs given to them when don’t really have the attention disorder only make the problem worse. Mr. Merrill Wise, a pediatric neurologist specialist, suggests that parents rule out sleep issues first.
During a recent study, researchers studied 11,000 British children for six years, beginning when they were 6 months old. They found that the children who had a poor quality of sleep affected by snoring or sleep apnea, were 40% to 100% more likely than the children with no breathing issues to develop behavioral issues that resemble A.D.H.D.
Smaller studies show that children with breathing problems sleep perform better with cognitive and attention-directed tasks and have fewer behavioral problems if they get their adenoids and tonsils removed. Afterwards, they are less likely to be diagnosed with A.D.H.D than the children with sleep-disordered breathing who keep their tonsils and adenoids.
It is important that parents stay informed about healthy sleep habits for their children in order to prevent the cycle of children being misdiagnosed. Pediatricians often times don’t bring up children’s sleep problems during check-ups and can focus on the wrong thing. Remember that our children are the future!
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