Rebecca Spencer Finds that Children's ADHD-like Symptoms Improve with Napping

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Sleep Review recently interviewed Rebecca Spencer, a professor in the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, on new research that suggests sleep plays a crucial role in managing behavioral and developmental challenges in young children, particularly those exhibiting early signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

"'Some preschools take 4-year-olds with learning delays out for learning interventions while the rest of the class is napping. But we’re finding that, no, these children need their nap time,' Spencer says. For example, Spencer has found that when the sleep time is extended for toddlers and preschoolers with early symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their ADHD-like symptoms improve 'versus when we increase the sleep of a typically developing kid, more sleep doesn’t do anything to their behavioral measures,' Spencer says. 'Children with ADHD symptoms probably have a greater sleep need, which is consistent with findings that hyperactivity is a counterintuitive reaction in children to sleep deprivation….Naps could be a way to help those kids meet their high sleep needs.'"

— Sleep Review

Click here to read the Sleep Review article.