ADHD medication keeps kids awake at night: study

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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD affects millions of children worldwide, and Huffington Post reports that in Germany alone, prescription drugs for ADHD has sharply increased from 10 million daily doses in 1998 to 53 million in 2008. In the United Kingdom, prescriptions were about 200,000 in 1991, rising to 1.58 in 1995. In the U.S. ADHD diagnoses increased by 25 percent in the last decade.

The journal Pediatrics have recently published a study by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, revealing the downside to consuming stimulant medications used to treat ADHD, HealthDay reports.

According to the study, children who consumed stimulant medications for ADHD have developed sleeping problems. However, researcher Katherine Kidwell said that while children with ADHD may already have sleeping problems regardless if they take medication or not, some researchers claim that the medication may help put them to sleep.

CBS News reports that for the study, researchers analyzed thousands of articles and selected nine studies for an in-depth review, which revealed that these medications caused more sleep problems for boys and although they eventually subside, they never really go away. Their analysis focused on methylphenidate drugs like Ritalin and amphetamines like Adderall, which both caused sleeping problems in children.

Specifically, when researchers looked at the results of seven clinical trials involving children with ADHD (with one group assigned to take medication and another given placebo), they found that those who were given medication were more likely to have sleeping problems. Kids who took methylphenidate had 20 minutes less sleep each night than children who were given placebo.

"We're not trying to encourage parents to stop their children's medication," Kidwell explained. "But we do encourage parents to talk to their pediatrician if they think their child is having sleep problems."

Timothy Nelson, an associate professor of psychology the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also commented that these medications "are well tolerated in general and there is evidence for their effectiveness. But physicians need to weigh the pros and cons in any medication decision, and considering the potential for disrupted sleep should be part of that cost-benefit analysis with stimulants."

According to Inquisitr, Kidwell recommends that doctors closely monitor the side effects of the medications they prescribe to their patients.

Kidwell explained, "Sleep adverse effects could undermine the benefits of stimulant medications in some cases. Pediatricians should carefully consider dosage amounts, standard versus extended release, and dosage frequencies to minimize sleep problems while effectively treating ADHD symptoms."