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Diet and sleep in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder : preliminary data in Australian children

journal contribution
posted on 2017-12-06, 00:00 authored by Sarah BlundenSarah Blunden, N Sinn, C Milte
Sleep disturbances are common and consequential in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Diet also influences ADHD symptoms. Interrelationships between diet, sleep and behaviour in children diagnosed with ADHD are little studied. We investigated, via parental report, the relationships between sleep and diet in 88 Australian children aged 6–13 years old (M ¼ 8.94, SD ¼ 1.78). This pilot data shows that 30 per cent of the children had sleep disturbance (less than or equal 2 standard deviations above the mean) with significant relationships between ADHD symptoms, sleep disturbance and diet. Parents who reported more sleep disturbance also reported a higher intake of carbohydrate, fats, and, most particularly, sugar which was also a significant predictor of night time sweating. These findings suggest an interrelationship between diet and sleep in children with ADHD. Given that both sleep and dietary intake are potentially modifiable behaviours within treatment regimes of children with ADHD, further investigation is needed.

Funding

Category 1 - Australian Competitive Grants (this includes ARC, NHMRC)

History

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start Page

14

End Page

24

Number of Pages

11

ISSN

1367-4935

Location

UK

Publisher

Sage

Language

en-aus

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • No

External Author Affiliations

University of South Australia;

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Journal

Journal of child health care.