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Becky (Cedar Springs, Michigan) on 08/04/2009

Has anyone considered just MORE SLEEP for children (and adults) with ADHD and ADD? My brother, who is now 28, and both of my sons, 10 and 3, have been suspicioned to have ADHD or ADD by teachers and others, and I seriously believe that it could just be a sleep deficit in all of them. I have read a book since my 9-month-old daughter was born called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Weissbluth. The book is mostly for parents of babies but it also covers older children a little bit...and the doctor suggests that a lot of kids who are diagnosed with these attention disorders may just be lacking sufficient sleep! I thought about it, and both of my sons have been terrible sleepers in the past. My 3-year-old still is. I blame myself because, now that I have read this book, I see where I made the mistake of going into their rooms too much at night when they cried as babies and toddlers, so they never really learned how to put themselves back to sleep. My now 10-year-old was still coming into my room a lot at night when he was 6 and 7 years old. I had always stayed by his bed until he fell asleep when he was younger, and I always soothed him back to sleep when he woke in the night. He never learned! My 3-year-old still wakes up screaming in the night all the time, and some nights he tries to fight going to bed. The books suggests putting them to bed way earlier than we think is sufficient, like 6:30 or 7 instead of 8 or 9 at night, and NOT going in at their every cry when they are young. There were studies done, and just making those changes alone improved many children's supposed ADHD and ADD tendencies! It also improved other problems, like strange body tics and twitches. Think about it: our lifestyles are getting crazier and busier all the time and good sleep is getting harder and harder to come by! Could this be why there are so many more cases of attention deficit disorders and other neurological problems than there were before there were busy families with both parents working, electronic games, etc. to keep kids up later??

Please consider just getting more sleep for the victim of one of these problems before trying anything else! I did see that Ted mentioned sleep being a problem and was trying to go into what to give so they can sleep better. According to Dr. Weissbluth, sometimes just going to bed earlier makes it easier to sleep because if you go too late, when you're too fatigued, you actually CAN'T get to sleep because of hormones you release when overtired. So consider just an earlier bedtime!

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Replied By Joy (Pensacola, Fl) on 05/10/2010

At one point, my 8 year old's supposed ADD/ADHD was at it's worst peak. He would throw "big kid" trantrums and become very easily frustrated. At this particular time, I realized he wasn't getting enough sleep. So I had him go to bed earlier, and the tantrums mostly stopped. He's still fidgety and has issues focusing, especially in school, but whenever he has a poor night's sleep, I know it's going to be a bad day. I don't know about his diet, but I suppose it's what might be considered normal, and without much sugar or fast food. No plans on changing that.

I am skeptical on the medical stance of ADD/ADHD. Of course, most of us here want to stay away from drugs. But I'm sure some children do have real issues, and some children just need real boundaries. This is a world where children gain instant gratification from tv, video games, internet, ipods, cell phones and the hundreds of other electronics they are exposed to. I mean, why does a 7 yr old even need a phone, let alone their own Firefly? It's so rare to see the child whose daily life consists of the enjoyment of reading, hiking in the woods, fishing, and the like. Even sports have, for many, lost its value of just playing the sport. I am not surprised to hear so many more of these ADD/ADHD cases in today's world. And here I am, young myself, in my 20's. My son, how surprising, is very calm and focused on the occassions he plays video games. Imagine that!

I tell him to turn off that tv and go play outside.

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Replied By Taryn (Tacoma, Wa) on 10/23/2010

My son, now 7 years had sleeping problems since a few months old. Started with colic. After almost 3 years of ear infections, stomach viruses and not sleeping well... I researched possible issues. I took him to a neurologist because that is what his pediatrician suggested. He said he thought he had sleep apnea. He wanted to do a overnight $5,000 dollar test on him before trying anything else. I brought up to him the idea of food allergies. He dismissed it instantly and said there was no proof of that. So I decided to try an elimination diet, before we had this test. Within 2 days of taking wheat, dairy, nuts, soy, corn, sugar, food dyes, etc. From his diet he slept peacfully through the night. Never in 3 years did he sleep so good. His digestive system was out of balance from all the antibiotics he had taken every month for almost 3 years. I have had to help with enzymes and supplements and diet to restore his digestive tract to normal. I give him a gluten/dairy free diet. It is hard, but worth all the work to keep my son from having nightmares and get some sleep myself too :)
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Replied By Susie (Anonymous , Michigan) on 05/11/2013

As far as the sugars go, would natural sugars be ok. I buy REAL honey from the natural food stores for my daughters herbal teas. And we do push for fruit. Are natural sugars ok?
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