Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Linked With Attention Problems In Kids: Study

If your child is having trouble focusing while doing schoolwork, you might need to take a look at his or her sleep habits, a new study suggests.

New research published in the journal SLEEP shows that excessive daytime sleepiness (or EDS) is linked with an increased risk of trouble paying attention at school, being hyperactive, difficulty learning and conduct problems.

"When children are referred for neurobehavioral problems, they should be assessed for potential risk factors for EDS," study researcher Susan Calhoun, Ph.D., of Penn State University, said in a statement. "Recognizing and treating EDS can offer new strategies to address some of the most common neurobehavioral challenges in young school-age children."

The study included 508 children who were part of the Penn State Child Cohort. The researchers conducted sleep testing on them and had the parents report whether their children had any excessive daytime sleepiness. Then, they divided the children up into two groups: One that had the excessive daytime sleepiness, and one that didn't.

The researchers found that excessive daytime sleepiness was linked with "neurobehavioral (learning, attention/hyperactivity, conduct) problems and poorer performance in processing speed and working memory," researchers wrote in the study.

Rather, researchers found that factors like depression or anxiety, inattention, obesity, asthma and trouble falling asleep were linked with excessive daytime sleepiness in the kids (even those who "got enough sleep" during the sleep testing, and didn't have sleep apnea).

Excessive daytime sleepiness can be caused by a number of factors, including not getting enough sleep at night, sleep apnea, medications, and other mental conditions or sleep disorders, according to a 2009 article in the journal American Family Physician.

Recently, a New York Times article also examined the link between sleep and attention problems at school. That article looked specifically at how some cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might actually be a sign of sleep apnea, which leads to sleep deprivation and, then, problems with focusing and attention.

The New York Times reported on a recent Pediatrics journal article, showing that kids with sleep problems -- such as sleep apnea or snoring -- have a 40 to 100 percent increased risk of ADHD-like behavioral problems.

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Comments

[frankenheimer]

07:31 AM on 05/08/2012

I teach elementary school. Too many children have TVs in their bedrooms. Not only are they watching programs no parent in his right mind would want them to, but they watch well into the night.

[mlaiuppa]

12:52 AM on 05/08/2012

I'll tell you want it's linked to.

Families sleeping in cars or homeless shelters.

Families sleeping 8 in a one bedroom apartment.

Parents that have no parenting skills, allowing their children to stay up as late as they want to. So you have third and fourth graders staying up after midnight.

Parents partying with their friends to all hours with loud music, talking, booze and drugs so their kids can't sleep.

Perhaps what we need is to take away the right of any ¡d¡0t to have kids. We should require parenting classes with the passing of a standardized test resulting in a license allowing said person to have children. We can't make them be good parents but at least we can say you knew what you were supposed to do and you didn't do it. That's neglect.

[Eha]

09:20 AM on 05/07/2012

An astonishing set of conclusions! Time for a new pill!

[gkstmf32]

05:27 PM on 05/06/2012

There were lots of researches on sleeping. So I knew that less sleep causes problems. Well, too much is as bad as too little. EDS surprised me. I wonder why though.... I think it will be awesome if the scientists can figure out the reason!! And we can use it to fix the attention problems, etc.

[P Alan Greene]

07:33 AM on 05/06/2012

Oh good lord-- now we're going to say that EDS is a thing! And that being sleepy affects one's ability to concentrate! Amazing!!

This is the kind of thing that makes science look ridiculous to the average shmoe.

[see-ellen2001]

04:22 PM on 05/05/2012

Headline: Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Linked With Attention Problems In Kids: Study. Gee, how earth shattering. I, for one, would never think being sleepy is problem with paying attention! up until now, I thought a sleep-deprived person could easily pass an exam, drive a long distance or operate heavy machinery.

[luapmi2]

03:48 AM on 05/05/2012

LOL...why aren't kids sleeping? My 15 year old girls still go to sleep at 8:30 and you have to wake them for school in the morning....

[been2there]

01:41 AM on 05/05/2012

Well, duh!! No one can teach a kid who is mentally absent or, worse yet, snoring!

[whatfreshhellisthis]

01:28 AM on 05/05/2012

I think that there's a simple solution that everyone is overlooking. When I go to the all-night grocery store or pharmacy, there are families with their young children, shopping at midnight. It seems to me that a regular bedtime, at a sensible hour, should be considered before testing for sleep apnea or similar problems.

[OAK STREET MAFIA]

11:37 PM on 05/04/2012

hello! its called ADHD!

[rewith85man]

09:02 PM on 05/04/2012

Those kids probably sleep because they are bored with the teachers and classes. Teachers should make the lectures, etc. interesting, playful, and so. Then, kids may not have a reason to sleep or be tired.

[see-ellen2001]

09:43 PM on 05/05/2012

Well, yes, we all know school is not for learning, it is where kids must be constantly entertained.

[gallo48]

08:47 AM on 05/06/2012

You need to wake up yourself and get a clue!
Check in to the local school and interview the top ten most respected teachers and enlighten us as to what are the issues!

[Danny Jones]

01:30 PM on 05/04/2012

Any child with EDS should be tested for sleep apnea. If the test shows that they have it,
they should be treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. Check their blood D3 and B12 levels and treat when abnormally low. (It is too early to know yet, but treating a low D3 and/or a low B12 may eventually eliminate the sleep apnea).