BIO

My name is Nicole Moll, and I am from Miami, FL. I am a sophomore majoring in Psychology on the Pre-Med track. I want to attend Medical School with the goal of having my own psychiatric private practice. My research interests include neuroscience and psychology.

ADHD Medications' Connection to Sleep Problems and Puberty

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty regulating attention, behavior, and emotion. Youth with ADHD often have sleep problems which can exacerbate ADHD symptoms. Stimulant medications have been shown to significantly reduce ADHD symptoms. Considering the high frequency of both stimulant use and sleep problems among adolescents with ADHD, it is important to understand how medication use impacts sleep in youth with ADHD. Pubertal stage may also impact medication use, given that ADHD symptoms typically decrease in later stages of development. It is important to understand the relationship between medication use, sleep problems, and puberty in order to create treatment plans that effectively minimize symptoms. To examine this, we will use data from 10,000 youth 9-10 years old enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Using ANOVAs, we will examine how medication use and pubertal status relate to sleep problems in a subsample of youth with ADHD (N = ~1,000). We will also examine whether stimulant use changes with pubertal status. We predict that individuals who take stimulants will see increased sleep problems. Further, we predict that individuals with more advanced pubertal status will exhibit less medication use compared to their peers earlier in puberty. Preliminary analyses indicate that medication use and pubertal stage have significant effects on sleep problems. The results of this study can improve the understanding of how ADHD treatment can affect sleep in an important developmental transition period.

Keywords: ADHD Adolescents Sleep Medications Puberty