Biofeedback Resources International

Sleep

Episodes

Wednesday Dec 16, 2015


You wouldn’t want to have to make that choice for
children.  Many children diagnosed with
ADHD are prescribed medications to help with the symptoms.  Some popular medications in use are Ritalin,
Concerta and Adderall.  These medications
are helping some people.  The drug
companies themselves are listing sleep problems as a possible side effect.
According to a November 23, 2015 online article in
Pediatrics, research analysis led by Katherine Kidwell of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln found that children given stimulants tended to have sleep
problems more often.  One of the studies
compared the sleep of children given methylphenidate (generic Ritalin) with
children given a placebo.  The children
who took the generic Ritalin slept an average of 20 minutes less per
night.  They also found that taking a
stimulant medication more often during the day caused a child to take longer to
fall asleep at night.
Dr. Trevor Resnick, who is chief of pediatric neurology at
Nicklaus Children’s  Hospital in Miami
says that it is extremely important  that
all children get a good night’s sleep for healthy brain development.  It is his belief that only a small percentage
of children will develop problems related to ADHD medications though. 
I believe based on experience and reading that many
attention problems may be due to poor sleep. 
If the brain is tired it is not going to work as efficiently.  It is harder to learn, focus, and pay
attention when you are sleep deprived.  Some
problems are due to children not getting enough sleep.  This can be caused by going to bed too
late.  As Dr. Michael Thompson of the ADD
Centre in Toronto Canada says, another problem is that before many kids go to
bed they are watching stimulating TV programs and playing stimulating video
games.  When they finally do go to bed
their brains are still too stimulated for quality sleep for some time.  Most children also have to wake up very early
to get to school on time.  That doesn’t
help things either.  Now this research
review is showing that the medications intended to improve attention and
hyperactivity symptoms may cause sleep problems in some of the children they
are intended to help.   
Many parents are now seeking alternatives methods of helping
their children with ADHD symptoms. 
Neurofeedback therapy is one option.  
Neurofeedback uses EEG biofeedback instruments that measure and feedback
the electrical signals from the brain. 
The information is fed back in a way that helps a person learn how to
regulate their brain activity.  Some of
the brainwaves are slower like the ones that are present more during
sleep.  Others are faster like the ones
present more while solving a math problem. 
The power of these waves are sometimes out of balance in people with
ADHD.  Neurofeedback can help a person
learn how to rebalance these brainwaves. 
This can lead to improvement in symptoms.
For listings of certified neurofeedback providers visit www.bcia.org and click on the consumers tab and
select find a practitioner.   If you are
interested in becoming a provider you can visit our website and start by taking
a free online introduction to neurofeedback course here: http://biofeedbackinternational.com/free.htm
 
Harry L. Campbell
President, Biofeedback Resources International
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
Author of the book “What Stress Can Do”
www.createspace.com/3839220
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BiofeedbackResources
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Biofeedback-Resources-International-Corp/118594803123















 

Copyright © 2011 Harry Campbell. All rights reserved.

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