The key role of daytime sleepiness in cognitive functioning of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Open Access
- 5 March 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Royal College of Psychiatrists in European Psychiatry
- Vol. 63 (1), 1-22
- https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.28
Abstract
Background.Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently suffer from sleep problems and report high levels of daytime sleepiness compared to neurotypical controls, which has detrimental effect on quality of life.Methods.We evaluated daytime sleepiness in adults with ADHD compared to neurotypical controls using an observer-rated sleepiness protocol during the Sustained Attention Response Task as well as electroencephalogram (EEG) slowing, a quantitative electroencephalographic measure collected during a short period of wakeful rest.Results.We found that adults with ADHD were significantly sleepier than neurotypical controls during the cognitive task and that this on-task sleepiness contributed to cognitive performance deficits usually attributed to symptoms of ADHD. EEG slowing predicted severity of ADHD symptoms and diagnostic status, and was also related to daytime sleepiness. Frontal EEG slowing as well as increased frontal delta were especially prominent in adults with ADHD. We have validated and adapted an objective observer-rated measure for assessing on-task sleepiness that will contribute to future sleep research in psychology and psychiatry.Conclusions.These findings indicate that the cognitive performance deficits routinely attributed to ADHD and often conceptualized as cognitive endophenotypes of ADHD are largely due to on-task sleepiness and not exclusively due to ADHD symptom severity. Daytime sleepiness plays a major role in cognitive functioning of adults with ADHD.Keywords
This publication has 59 references indexed in Scilit:
- Future Research Directions in Sleep and ADHDJournal of Attention Disorders, 2012
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and glial integrity: an exploration of associations of cytokines and kynurenine metabolites with symptoms and attentionBehavioral and Brain Functions, 2010
- Sleepless in adolescence: Prospective data on sleep deprivation, health and functioningJournal of Adolescence, 2009
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Brief History of the Approach and Current Focus on Epigenetic MechanismsSeminars in Reproductive Medicine, 2009
- Association Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Sleep Impairment in AdulthoodBritish Journal of Psychology, 2009
- Using EEG spectral components to assess algorithms for detecting fatigueExpert Systems with Applications, 2009
- Slow cortical potential neurofeedback in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: is there neurophysiological evidence for specific effects?Journal of Neural Transmission, 2008
- A Meta-analysis of Quantitative EEG Power Associated With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderJournal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2006
- On the cerebro‐protective effects of caroverine, a calcium‐channel blocker and antiglutamatergic drug: double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, EEG mapping and psychometric studies under hypoxiaBritish Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1996
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Pathogenesis of Neuropsychological DeficitsJournal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 1991