A Cure for ADHD? Newsweek

[Bryan Hutchinson]

Ah, okay, it's snoring? I don't snore, I have never snored and I never will snore... I should know... right?

Anyway, newsweek is reporting that there is a cure for ADHD. You can read about it here:

A Cure for ADHD.

Actually, I think they may be on to something, but I wouldn't be running to the hills saying it is a cure. I have RLS restless leg syndrome, I simply do not get good sleep and I have had it since I was wee high to a grasshopper.

And he goes, hrmmmmmmm, because really, how can anyone be wee high to a grasshopper???

Bryan

[Mike B]

Very interesting article, I apparently don't snore in my sleep as an adult. I've been told that I'll sometimes make 'cute little moaning noises' that sound like I'm doing something pleasant.

My thoughts on the article:

79 kids is way to few to base any kind of study on. (That is actually one of my current pet-peeves, news articles saying a study shows that 100people are this so its The TRUTH..and everyone else is like this!! uhhuh, right! Of course I'm a news and study junkie so hey, I keep on going back for more and even want to conduct my own studies! :)

Not sleeping properly is normally part of being ADHD, period. Not getting enough sleep makes it more pronounced the next day. Having ADHD makes it harder for your consciousness to disengage to let you go to sleep and then STAY disengaged for the 7-8hours we need to sleep.

So I can see snoring as making ADHD more pronounced but not being the cause.

IE, I recently started thinking that the 3-4times I wake up in the night to go to the bathroom isn't because I really have to go. I wake up because my brain just starts firing cylinders that shouldn't be running while I'm sleeping. (Which has me lately actually thinking of getting sleeping meds. I don't want to medicate my ADHD beyond Omega-3 and caffeine when I need to focus but meds so I can sleep might work!)

Or I could just start doing a relaxing routine before bed. Er wait, routine huh? whats that? Planning my bed time OMG.. HOW when there is just so much to do!! *looks at the clock* Yay for 5:30hours of probably very interrupted sleep.

Or maybe I have RLS *makes a mental note to look into it* which of course means I'll get to it uh, later.. :)

Side note: Have any studies been done for a correlation between people with ADHD and RLS? I'd google but then I'd be up for another 3 hours in happy research land! *grins* Of course only 20mins of that 3 hours would be on RLS/ADHD the other 2:40 would be finding other fun interesting facts about totally unrelated things! :)

I have a hunch that tells me the two go hand in hand. Brain not staying in sleep mode = body not staying in sleep mode either.

[Riri]

Hmmm...I guess that research does not apply to me. I have never had sleep disorder, although I realised that I sometimes I need more sleep than usual on certain days. But that was started in my adulthood. So, I don't know. But I'll remember it when I have kids.

[Bryan Hutchinson]

Ha Dana! No, I don't snore actually. Yes, Joan confirmed it. RLS is hereditary and can start whenever, doesn't have to be already occurring, but once it starts, it doesn't go away. I have had it since as long as I can remember.

[DANA]

Isn't it hysterical that most individuals say that they do not snore? How would we be aware of snoring if we are drifting off to LA LA LAND? Of course, there is that slight coincidence that someone may snore so LOUDLY that they not only wake up their family, but they accidentally wake up themselves!

Bryan, has Joan mentioned that you snore? If anyone is going to know for certain whether you snore when you are asleep, it is most definitely Joan!

As far as the assumption that Newsweek reported about linking ADHD to snoring, I sincerely find this idea is worth checking into for all ADDer's that do snore, but not exactly credible for all the ADDer's who do not snore.

In my household, there are 4 of us who are ADDer's and only one of us that is not. My husband (the NON-ADDer) does snore loudly and it does pose a huge sleeping hazard for me who is a very light sleeper. As for the rest of us, my husband said that I typically do not snore on a regular basis, but once every "blue moon!", my son usually does not snore, my middle child absolutely does not snore, but my youngest child does occasionally snore.

I can't help, but wonder if Newsweek is simply grasping at straws to come up with questionable idea's stating that the cure for ADHD is possible if snoring is resolved? Due to the fact that NOT all individuals diagnosed with ADD/ADHD snore on a regular basis, I find Newsweek's theory unfounded.

Bryan, how long have you had restless leg syndrome? Does anyone in your family have this condition? My mother, who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, has restless leg syndrome and she experiences sleeping challenges, too. Does anyone else on ADDer World have restless leg syndrome or sleeping challenges?

For the past 20 years, I have been a very light sleeper, I wake up very easily, I need to sleep in total darkness with no noise or disturbances. Ironically, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 2 years ago, which may explain my sleep challenges. Medical studies show that a large percent of fibromyalgia patients are not able to experience REM sleep, which is very necessary to have deep sleep. In addition, many fibromyalgia patients experience restless leg syndrome.