Attention-Deficit Disorder or Lack of Sleep? CDH Sleep Medicine
Director Says Sleep Disorders at Root of Many Childhood and
Adolescent Behaviors WINFIELD, Ill., March 9, 2007 — The impact
of sleep deprivation in children and teenagers is an eye-opener,
mimicking conditions ranging from attention-deficit disorder to
adolescent depression to drunk driving. Children who have
trouble staying on task—distractible, fidgety, constantly
moving—are often diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), but may have actually have a sleep disorder,
says Anna Ivanenko, MD, pediatric sleep medicine director at
Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. “Studies have shown a clear
link between sleep dysfunction, which causes excessive daytime
sleepiness, and behavioral, mood and performance deficits,” says
Dr. Ivanenko, who reported her findings recently at the second
annual “Sleep and Learning” Seminar for DuPage County educators,
sponsored by Central DuPage Hospital. Children with sleep apnea,
for instance, have