Researchers may have uncovered factors contributing to poor sleep quality in patients with ADHD.

Previous research has identified an association between ADHD and sleep disturbances; however, the mechanisms behind the correlation are not well understood.

In a new study, researchers used social media advertisements to recruit 259 U.S. adolescents and their mothers. They then measured the adolescents’ ADHD symptoms, household characteristics, and sleep habits with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index; Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale; and Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale. The mothers were asked to rate their children’s ADHD severity on the ADHD Rating Scale V.

The researchers explained families of adolescent patients with ADHD tend to exhibit worse sleep hygiene and greater household chaos—defined as low structure, excessive noise, and instability. They found that the relation between ADHD symptoms and poor sleep quality was mediated partially through chaos (beta = 0.08, P = .001) and sleep hygiene (beta = 0.06, P = .036) as well as sequentially through chaos and sleep hygiene (beta = 0.04, P = .003).

The researchers hope the findings lead to the development of novel behavioral interventions to improve sleep hygiene and quality in patients with ADHD. They emphasized the correlations may necessitate positive alterations to the structure and stability of the entire household rather than solely implementing preventive treatment among adolescents with the condition.

They study was published in SLEEP and will be presented at SLEEP 2024.

A full list of disclosures can be found in the original study.