A considerable proportion of children and adolescents do not experience adequate sleep. Clinical studies show that poor sleep is implicated in the development and persistence of very prevalent childhood disorders affecting youth health. Dr. Gruber is leading an internationally recognized research program that seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying the interplay between sleep, cognition and mental health, and to build on this understanding to develop innovative evidence-based strategies that use sleep improvement to enhance academic performance and mental health.

Her research focuses on three themes as they relate to pediatric sleep: ADHD, academic performance, and mental health. Additionally, Dr. Gruber translates her research findings into tools for healthcare providers and educators, to promote healthy sleep in children and adolescents by creating evidence-based resources to optimize the care of children with sleep disorders.

1. Sleep and ADHD
The objective of this part of Dr. Gruber’ research program is to characterize the sleep abnormalities of ADHD to explore potential behavioural, circadian, and genetic contributions of such abnormalities and to measure the impact of poor-quality sleep on the daytime functioning of children with ADHD. Using this knowledge, she seeks to develop evidence-based approaches to prevent or treat the daytime problems caused or exacerbated by sleep deprivation in children with ADHD. In terms of knowledge translation, Dr. Gruber has contributed to creating recommendations on clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and evaluation of sleep problems in children with ADHD.

2. Sleep and Academic Performance
The objective of this part of Dr. Gruber’ research program is to is to discover mechanisms underlying the association between sleep and academic performance. Dr. Gruber is investigating the role of sleep in IQ, academic performance and the daily functioning in school of children and adolescents.

3. Sleep and Mental Health
Pediatric sleep disorders are reported in 95% of youth with mental and neurological conditions. They are associated with mood disturbances, behavioural problems, and impaired academic performance. They predict an earlier onset of alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use and the onset, severity and likelihood of relapse of psychiatric disorders. Moreover, sleep problems in children negatively impacts their parents’ sleep and thus cause a cascade of burdensome problems including parenting stress which can be associated with harsh parenting. In addition, co-morbid sleep disorders significantly reduce the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological interventions. Effective treatment of pediatric sleep

disorders contributes to better outcomes following these interventions but only a small number of Canadian youth who need sleep interventions currently receive them. The objectives of this part of the research program are 1) to better understand the mechanisms underlying the interplay between sleep and youth mental health; and 2) to develop further and facilitate the integration of evidence-based interventions for pediatric sleep disorders into educational and mental health services, and to provide available behavioural evidence-based interventions for pediatric sleep disorders.

Programs, Tools, and Information For The Public

Dr. Gruber has developed a comprehensive framework for sleep promotion and prevention programs for psychologists, pediatricians, and schools professionals.

Dr. Gruber has been collaborating with school boards in Quebec since September 2007. In partnership they have created, implemented, evaluated, and disseminated school-based interventions aiming at promoting sleep health and offering evidence-based tools to treat sleep disorders.

Dr Gruber led the creation of the Canadian consensus statement in pediatric sleep which provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based tools to address pediatric sleep disorders. The statement has been endorsed by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Canadian Sleep Society

Reut Gruber, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist and pediatric sleep expert. Her research at the Attention, Behaviour and Sleep Laboratory is focused on investigating the association between sleep and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), academic performance, and mental health. Dr. Gruber seeks to use the knowledge gained from her research to create evidence-based tools for pediatricians, psychologists, and schools to promote children's sleep health. She has also created the first school-based programs aimed at improving children's physical and mental health and academic performance by extending their sleep.

Dr. Gruber is actively involved in the supervision of undergraduate and graduate students at McGill University interested in conducting research in the field of pediatric sleep.

Dr. Gruber’s research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, and Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ). She is also the recipient of several FRSQ and CIHR career awards.

In the news

Dr. Gruber has made more than 200 appearances in media outlets around the wold including CNN, New York Time, Huffington Post, Sirius XM Radio, Time, Fox News, Globe and Mail, CTV in which she presented the results from our innovative work and advocated the importance of sleep to children’s health to the public.