Journal of Sleep Disorders & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Are Actiwatch Recordings Useful in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity

Kathy Sexton-Radek

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been investigated in numerous research studies ranging from incidence levels to the identification of the pervasiveness of the hyperactivity. However, the comorbidity of ADHD and sleep disturbance has been under investigated. Additionally, in some clinics, the data from the actigraphic monitoring is used to inform decisions about treatment. This study focused on the examination of actigraphic data from clinical cases, collectively in statistical analyses and individually in graphical analysis. Measure of sleep minutes, sleep start times, wake minutes, and activity levels were gathered from actigraphic recordings in five participants aged 10 to 18 years; data from two or the five participants that was complete was used in the study. Each participant was a patient of the clinic and informed consent was obtained. The results indicated elevated activity scores during the daytime and at night, comparatively, to same aged peers norms with sleep and psychological disorder diagnoses. There was considerable variability in sleep time and sleep efficiency scores in the three adolescent actigraphic recordings. All aggregated summary data and individual graphical analyses will be presented within the context of the sleep and child psychiatric literature.