Sleep interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic literature review

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#child #humans #attention-deficit-disorder-with-hyperactivity #quality-of-life #melatonin

Sleep interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic literature review

Larsson et al., 2023 | Sleep Med | Systematic Review

Citation

Larsson I, Aili K, ... Johansson P. Sleep interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic literature review. Sleep Med. 2023-Feb;102:64-75. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2022.12.021

Abstract

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Healthy sleep is particularly important for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as sleep disturbances might aggravate disease symptoms. This review aims to synthesize and report evidence on the effectiveness of sleep interventions in increasing sleep, quality of life (QoL), and ADHD symptoms among children with ADHD. PATIENTS/METHODS: The systematic literature review follows the Cochrane Collaboration methodology recommendations for literature reviews. Four databases were used based on the population, intervention, control and outcome (PICO) framework. Controlled trials with minimum 20 children in each group, aged 6-18, and published from 2005 and onwards were included. Results from the studies were reported in forest plots and three of the seven review outcomes were synthesized in meta-analyses. RESULTS: The search identified 7710 records; of which 4808 abstracts were screened. After fulltext-screening of 99 papers, eight papers from five studies were included. The studies included behavioral sleep interventions and pharmacological interventions using melatonin and eszopiclone. For six of the seven outcomes, the effect sizes were small to moderate and the certainty of the evidence was low. For one outcome, sleep disturbances, the effect size was a moderate -0.49 standardized mean differences (95% confidence interval -0.65;-0.33), with a moderate certainty of evidence for the behavioral interventions for children aged 5-13 years with ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: This review identified few and heterogeneous studies. A moderate certainty of evidence for a moderate effect size was only obtained for sleep disturbances from the behavioral interventions. A low certainty of the evidence for a moderate effect size was found for the total sleep time from the pharmacological intervention using melatonin and one behavioral intervention, which indicates that these sleep interventions impact sleep quantity and quality among children with ADHD.

Key Findings

The search identified 7710 records; of which 4808 abstracts were screened. After fulltext-screening of 99 papers, eight papers from five studies were included. The studies included behavioral sleep interventions and pharmacological interventions using melatonin and eszopiclone. For six of the seven outcomes, the effect sizes were small to moderate and the certainty of the evidence was low. For one outcome, sleep disturbances, the effect size was a moderate -0.49 standardized mean differences (95

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range aged 6-18
Condition sleep

MeSH Terms

  • Child
  • Humans
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
  • Quality of Life
  • Melatonin
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Sleep Wake Disorders
  • Sleep

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Systematic Review
  • Publication Types: Systematic Review, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Vertical: melatonin

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09