More Children With Sleep Problems Seek Overnight Tests

Recent studies have linked sleep problems in children to a host of issues including:

• obesity
• learning and memory problems
• an increased risk of developing mental illness—particularly anxiety disorders and depression—later in life

The growing number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism is spurring interest in sleep, too, as sleep problems are common in these kids. As many as three-quarters of children with neurodevelopmental or psychiatric conditions have insomnia.

Also, the symptoms of ADHD and sleep problems can look quite similar.

"We see more and more parents who come in saying, 'My pediatrician wants to put my child on Ritalin because he thinks he has ADHD, but I want to make sure there's not a sleep problem,' " says Judith A. Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

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