Study: Sleep Problems in Children Linked to Low Iron, Restless Behavior

October 19, 2024Sleep problems in children are associated with restless behavior and iron deficiency, two problems more common in patients with ADHD, according to a small study published in the journal Nutrients.1The study followed 199 patients referred to a Sleep/Wake Behavior Clinic between 2021 and 2023.

It found that patients with ADHD were nearly twice as likely as their neurotypical counterparts to have restless leg syndrome (RLS).

The most common psychiatric comorbidities among patients with sleep disorders included ADHD (46%), autism (45%), and anxiety disorder (41%).Most patients in the study had an iron deficiency (94%), and 41% knew someone in their family who did.

When comparing ADHD patients only, a family history of iron deficiency increased the patient’s risk of having RLS and insomnia.“Recently, iron has received increasing attention due to its role in sleep disorders, as well as wake behaviors associated with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and prenatal alcohol exposure/fetal alcohol spectrum disorder,” the research authors wrote.RLS was the most common sleep disorder (74%) in the study, followed by:Nearly three-quarters of children with ADHD experience a sleep problem or disorder.2 For many children, sleep problems last into adolescence and can aggravate ADHD symptoms during the day.“By the time they get into adolescence, we know that teens with ADHD are more likely than their peers without ADHD to get insufficient sleep on school nights,” said Stephen Becker, Ph.D., in his 2021 webinar with ADDitude, “Why Am I Always So Tired?