Is ADHD stopping my teenager from sleeping?
24 February 2025 | Featured, For Parents & Caregivers, For Teacher & Educators, Research
This post was written by Meghan Perez-Keepax as part of a placement on the Masters in Science Communication at the University of Edinburgh
The image of the sleep deprived teen, struggling to get up in the morning, but active late into the night is so common it is almost a caricature. However, not everyone is equally affected. Previous research found that Children with ADHD are up to three times more likely to experience sleep problems than those who are neurotypical. A new study has found the same trend in teenagers.
Girls vs Boys?: When it came to sleep, there wasn’t a big difference between male and female teenagers with ADHD. There was, however, a big difference in their self-reported levels of stress. Female teenagers with ADHD reported more stress symptoms than both ADHD males and neurotypical females. (There wasn’t much of a difference in reported stress levels between ADHD and neurotypical males). The researchers said that this may mean that there are some differences in the reasons for female and male ADHD sleep problems:
“Where girls feel pressured and go at full speed to try to cope with academic and social demands, boys may [have sleep difficulties] for other reasons, such as staying up too late playing video games”
However, they emphasised that more research is needed before they can be confident that this is the case.
Who is most affected?: The study found that teenagers with ADHD who experienced higher inattentiveness at the same time as emotional symptoms were especially prone to sleep difficulties. The same was true for individuals who had a combination of higher hyperactivity and conduct symptoms (these include overt aggression toward people or animals, property destruction, theft, deceitfulness and serious violations of rules and laws). The implication is that, for the affected individuals, approaches that reduce emotional or conduct symptoms may also help reduce sleep difficulties.
What might help?: This study alongside others, reinforces the need to manage sleep problems as part of the range of support given to teenagers with ADHD.
Our blog post on dealing with emotions in autistic and ADHD children and our free booklet ‘Understanding the Strengths and Difficulties of ADHD’ provide practical, evidence based advice on how to support your son or daughter as an individual.
