Question:
Disruptive and problematic behaviors can accompany many different
disorders and conditions. Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity,
Tourette's Syndrome, epilepsy and head injury are just a few examples.
One of the commonly observed features of these disorders is excessive
"slow wave" or theta wave activity in the brain and a relative lack of
the higher frequency "focus waves", generally referred to as beta waves.
Beta waves are associated with a state of attentiveness and focus where
as theta waves are reflective of a state of "dream-like"
inattentiveness.
[http://www.yesican.org/articles/biofeed.html]
Could there be a connection between AD/HD and sleep? In that case, both
the sleeping process as well as the disorder might stem from the same
region in the brain... This is just a wild idea, I am no expert on this
subject.
Answer:
What I would like to stress here is that I do NOT attempt to make a connection
between sleeping disorders and ADHD. What I am trying to do is discuss is the
similarity in brain waves between the first stage of normal sleep (read the book
"the Promise of Sleep, first chapter) and people with AD/HD.
This is just an idea that popped in my head, please do not derive any conclusions
from this.
It is more an attempt to find an explanation of the dream-like state and the
feeling of being in a fog that we find ourselves so often in...
I was wondering if maybe the normal process of sleep and AD/HD could stem from the
same regions of the brain. Because of this idea, I was wondering if maybe, just
maybe, AD/HD could be a form of sleeping disorder... This is more a theoretical
sort of discussion, please don't take it any other way.
I already contacted the center at Stanford.
Still, I would like to make a correction: ADHD is most of the time something
you are born with, more like a medical condition. ["Driven to Distraction":
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684801280/o/qid=933912255/sr=...]
ADHD cannot be 'caused' by a sleeping disorder, but the symptoms of sleep
deprivation and ADHD can be very similar. The more you think about this, the
more you get the feeling that the mechanism of sleep and the defected mechanism
of attention in ADHD-ers might be more similar than we think...
I am wondering where ADHD is coming from, neurologically.
You present an interesting idea. Before your theory would be valid, you woud
really have to have your sleep disorder evaluated, for instance perhaps you
suffer from sleep apnea. Most people are not themselves aware of their problem,
only finding out about it from their bed partners complaints. They just
experience excessive day time sleepiness, increased feelings of stress, vague
illnesses, etc. That said, my son has a very severe type of ADHD, which is
slowly improving, but sleep, surprisingly, was never a problem for him. He
usually falls right asleep, and stays asleep through the night. Except when he
is having a reaction to his medication, in which case he is awake all night,
which of course affects his behavior the next day. That said, I think your idea
is intrigung, and certainly bears more study. As an after thought, they say
that this disorder often runs in families, and although I have never been
diagnosed, looking back I can see definate signs of ADD in myself, excessive
day dreaming for as long as I can remember- still do it all the time now.
Inattentive mostly, though not hyperactive, impulsive. I also feel drowsy alot
of the time. Perhaps there is a previously undiscovered connection. I think I
would like to read that book you mentioned.
