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The Relationship Between Sleep Habits and Symptoms in ADHD Children

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:04 pm

A new study on children, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and sleep, gives parents good reasons to make sure that their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids develop good bed-time habits and are in bed as early as possible.

The study reported the obvious: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder children need sleep, and lots of it.

The study was just published on March 1, 2009 in the journal SLEEP. It confirms what many parents already know about their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder children or teens, that they simply are not getting enough sleep at night, and that they often wake up tired and sluggish in the morning, which causes other problems all through the day.

The study was led by Dr. Reut Gruber, Ph.D., the director of the Attention, Behaviour, and Sleep Lab, which is a part of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, in Montreal, Quebec. “The Douglas” is associated with McGill University and is also very involved in World Health Organization programs. Dr. Gruber has been studying the effects of a lack of sleep in children for years, including its effects on depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and school performance. She even has done a study on the impact of sleep (or lack of it) on continuous performance test (CPT) performance (tests such as the TOVA). She is a big advocate of teaching children good night-time habits to improve the quality and quantity of their sleep so that their performance through the day may improve.

While Dr. Gruber does not believe that a lack of sleep causes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, she does believe that sleep problems make Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms worse, which is easy enough to see when thinking about focused attention or impulse control. The study reports that as many as 50% of children and teens with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have reported having sleep problems, which can impair daytime learning and performance.

Reports of this study show that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have significantly shorter sleep times than the non- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder control group. The children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the study got an average of 8 hours, 19 minutes of sleep per night, while the control group averaged 8 hours, 52 minutes of sleep. This missing half-hour of sleep each night adds up over the course of a week, a month, a year. The study also reported that the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder children had less REM sleep time each night than the control group.

So parents, this gives us good reasons to consider how our family spends its time from about 7:00 pm and later into the evening. Try to structure the evening so that your children can wind-down, relax, and get ready for a full night’s sleep. The results could be better performance at school the following day.

Dr. Douglas Cowan is the Clinical Editor of the ADD ADHD Information Library’s family of websites, including http://newideas.net and http://ADDinSchool.com for parents and teachers. Dr. Cowan has a Doctorate in Psychology, and a Masters in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy, and has helped hundreds of ADHD children and families. See our free online screening tool for adhd.

Article Source: The Relationship Between Sleep Habits and Symptoms in ADHD Children

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Common Symptoms of Clinical Depression.

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

Clinical Depression is a catch all phrase for any number of depressive disorders. The symptoms of clinical depression affect everyone who suffers from it in different ways. Depression affects people across all age ranges, genders, ethnicities, cultures and religions. According to the American Psychiatric Association over 17 million men and women in the U.S. suffer from some form of clinical depression every year.

Clinical depression is very different then the normal “blue” moods most people go through during their lives. Most people react to major let downs and traumatic experiences in their lives such as breakups of relationships or deaths of family or friends the same way. They have a period of mourning or just feeling in the dumps but after a few days to a week they start to return to their normal selves.

Clinical depression sufferers do not snap out of their depressed moods. They can spend weeks, months and even years trapped in their malaise. It is the length of the feelings and symptoms that will confirm a diagnosis of clinical depression but many people who suffer from this illness do not seek the help they need. They may not even realize that they are indeed suffering from a form of depression because their current condition has slowly manifested itself over a long period of time.

The common symptoms of clinical depression can be broken up into three categories. Any combination of these symptoms that last for more than a two week period of time signifies that someone is suffering with depression.

1. Physical Symptoms:
• Sleep problems – either insomnia or oversleeping and not having normal sleep patterns.

• Lack of energy and chronic fatigue

• Appetite changes leading to weight gain or loss.

• Headaches, digestive problems, back pain and other physical symptoms for which there is no medical illness.

2. Behavioral Symptoms:
• Loosing interest in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyable. Withdrawing from social functions and obligations.

• Memory loss, inability to concentrate and make good decisions.

• Lack of concern over personal appearance, responsibilities and work.

3. Emotional Symptoms:
• Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and guilt.

• Continual feelings of sadness or not feeling whole.

• Constant crying and weeping.

• Irritable feelings including anxiousness and agitation.

• Feeling like suicide or death is an alternative to living.

If any combination of these symptoms last for more than two weeks then a diagnosis of clinical depression will in most cases be made. Only by seeking out and receiving the proper treatment, either through medication, therapy, or a combination of the two, will the sufferer of clinical depression be able to start the road to recovery.

For more information about Clinical Depression please visit his website Depression and You.com.

Article Source: Common Symptoms of Clinical Depression.

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How Much Do You Know About Alternative Treatments For Depression ?

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm

Let us take an easy one of the depression alternatives to start with. Exercise. Now before you groan inwardly, look at this shocking statistic. According to a report from the Mental Health Foundation, exercise may be just as effective in treating depression as antidepressants! One study showed that regular exercise about three times a week was just as effective as being on antidepressants. Often, a lack of exercise can actually be one the contributing factors to the onset of depression in the first instance. This must be the top of the alternative treatments for depression.

Almost everyone can do exercise. The benefits are enormous for general health but for depression, experts note that after exercise, patients feel and look happier because of the release of endorphins which have a positive impact on our mood. Then there are all the other benefits as well such as looking better so that your self confidence receives a boost. Stress, anxiety and sleep problems improve as well. There is the social element too which should not be underestimated as we know that socialising on any level can be a help to a depressed patient. Those people lucky enough to have close affectionate relationships with partner, family and or friends have a much lower possibility of getting depressed. You may wonder why this has got so little attention as one of the best alternative treatments for depression.

Fish oil might sound smelly but it can do wonders for the depressed state of mind. We are talking here about diet because let’s face it the food we eat has an immediate and lasting effect on our state of mind and our general mental well being. Look at the results of a study done where depressed patients were given 1 gram of fish oil a day and the symptoms of sadness, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, insomnia and loss of libido all dropped by 50%. If you are suffering from depression, get some fish oil into your diet. That can be in the form of pharmaceutical grade capsules or by eating salmon, tuna, flaxseed oil and olive oil and nuts. Add complex carbohydrates, protein such as lean meat and a supply of Vitamin B and D foods and you will be well on the way to recovery. Diet, like exercise has been overshadowed in looking at the alternative treatments for depression.

The big pharm have been keeping very quiet about the poor results that antidepressants actually have in curing depression and obviously will not be rushing to put up websites on depression alternatives. The scandalous statistic is that anti depressant medications will actually only cure about one third of all cases! In about 5% of cases, depression symptoms will actually get worse. Given the side effects of antidepressants, isn’t it about time that more attention was given to herbal remedies as one of the best alternative treatments for depression? Other treatments consist of light therapy for SAD (seasonal affective disorder), meditation,yoga, counselling and cognitive behavior therapy.

Want to learn about alternative treatments for depression ? Robert Locke has written extensively on Mental Health for many years.

Article Source: How Much Do You Know About Alternative Treatments For Depression ?

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