A new study explored the role of household structure and stability for healthy sleep in teens.

Summary: A study to be presented at SLEEP 2024 reveals that household chaos and poor sleep hygiene significantly impact the relationship between sleep quality and ADHD symptoms in teenagers. By analyzing data from 259 mother-adolescent pairs, researchers found that improving household routines and sleep hygiene could enhance sleep quality for adolescents with ADHD symptoms.

Key Takeaways:

Impact of Household Chaos: The study identifies household chaos as a significant factor that negatively affects sleep quality in teens with ADHD. A disorganized home environment can exacerbate sleep difficulties associated with ADHD.
Role of Sleep Hygiene: Poor sleep hygiene was found to be a mediator in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and poor sleep quality. Implementing better sleep habits and routines can potentially improve sleep for adolescents with ADHD.
Importance of Structured Routines: Researchers suggest that stabilizing household routines and reducing chaos are crucial strategies for improving sleep quality in teens with ADHD.

A new study found that household chaos and sleep hygiene are important factors in the relationship between sleep quality and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in teens.

Results of structural equation modeling, to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting, show that household chaos and sleep hygiene were significant mediators of the relationship between ADHD symptoms and poor sleep quality.

Improving Household Stability

Researchers say results suggest that improving the daily routine and stability of the household is an important strategy to consider when seeking to improve sleep quality in adolescents with symptoms of ADHD.

“These results begin to explicate some contextual factors that may help explain the increase in sleep difficulties observed in youth with higher symptoms of ADHD,” says lead author and co-principal investigator Jamie Flannery, who is a doctoral candidate in developmental psychology at the University of Notre Dame, in a release. “It suggests that when ADHD symptoms are high, aspects of the individual—poor sleep hygiene—and the familial environment—household chaos—are associated with poor sleep quality in adolescents.”

Study Methodology and Data Collection

The researchers collected data from 259 pairs of mothers and adolescents from across the United States. Mothers used a scale to rate the severity of their adolescent’s ADHD symptoms, while adolescents completed three separate surveys about sleep quality, home environment and sleep hygiene.

Importance of Routine and Stability

Flannery notes in a release that it’s important for adolescents and their families to know that it is more than just individual characteristics that can impact their sleep.

“While improving sleep hygiene in youths with ADHD may be beneficial, a household characterized by a lack of structure, routine, and stability may undermine the adolescent’s sleep quality,” Flannery says in a release.

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Monday, June 3, during SLEEP 2024 in Houston.