#CANT STAY AWAKE MANUAL#

In early attempts to define the syndrome, sleep disturbances were briefly considered a criterion for ADHD, but were dropped from the symptoms list because evidence of them was thought to be too nonspecific. It continues to impair life functioning 24 hours a day. Just as ADHD does not go away at adolescence, it does not go away at night either. Consequently, the arbitrary age cutoff has prevented recognition of night owls and sleep disturbances in ADHD until recently, when studies of adults have become more common.

Sleep disturbances associated with ADHD generally appear later in life, at around age 12, on average.

#CANT STAY AWAKE MANUAL#

Sleep problems did not fit neatly into the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) requirement that all ADHD symptoms must be present by age 7. Sleep disturbances caused by ADHD have been overlooked for a number of reasons. But, as with most of our knowledge about ADHD in adults, we’re only beginning to understand the stronger link between ADHD and sleep, that creates difficulties:

More often, ADHD’s mental and physical restlessness disturbs a person’s sleep patterns - and the ensuing exhaustion hurts overall health and treatment. Adults with ADHD rarely fall asleep easily, sleep soundly through the night, and then wake up feeling refreshed.

Cant stay awake