Clinicians working with children diagnosed with ADHD feel under prepared to identify and manage sleep problems which affect many of the patients they support, according to research from Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

Almost two‑thirds of children with ADHD experience significant sleep difficulties, such as taking a long time to fall asleep, waking frequently through the night or waking very early.

Researchers interviewed 15 specialist clinicians across the UK, who described sleep as a reoccurring problem in their daily practice and reported significant impacts on children’s behaviour, school performance, family wellbeing, and parent mental health.

They also identified a lack of formal training, limited access to evidence‑based resources, and difficulties distinguishing ADHD symptoms from sleep‑related issues.

Prof David Daley is one of the people leading the project. Photo: Submitted

placeholder image — Prof David Daley is one of the people leading the project. Photo: Submitted

Many said they had to learn on the job, drawing on lay knowledge or the experiences of families rather than structured clinical guidance.

The findings of the study Mind the Gap! Sleep problems in children with ADHD will now play a key role in the creation of an online screening tool and training programme to support healthcare professionals in diagnosing sleep problems and identifying the most effective treatments.

The research and tool forms part of a £2.2m DISCA project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

It is led by researchers at the University of Southampton, the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

This project also includes Sleep Buddy; a digital support resource currently being trialled with families of children aged six to 12-years-old with ADHD.

The Sleep Buddy website has been developed by sleep experts in partnership with parents and carers of children with ADHD and gives information and advice about tried and tested ways to help sleep.

The website is being evaluated in a nationwide study, and researchers are looking for around 350 families to join up, particularly from communities who are often under-represented in research such as children in foster care and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Researchers will follow up at three and six months to see if there are lasting improvements to the child’s sleep, behaviour, and ability to concentrate.

They will also investigate the wider effects of better sleep on families, for example by allowing a parent to return to work.

Prof David Daley, head of applied psychological practice at NTU’s school of social sciences and co‑author of the Mind the Gap! study, who also led on the development of the Sleep Buddy questionnaire, said: “Clinicians were very candid about the lack of formal training and the pressures they face.

"Their insights highlighted that families need consistent guidance and that clinicians themselves would benefit from better tools.

“The Sleep Buddy project is a valuable opportunity for families to get involved and to help address this gap - hopefully transforming how ADHD‑related sleep issues are approached and treated in the future.”

Parents and carers who are interested in finding out more about the Sleep Buddy study can visit the website discasleep.org.uk/get-involved

The team also includes researchers in the Southampton Primary Care Research Centre with expertise in digital health interventions and is working closely with colleagues at King’s College London, Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, and national ADHD and foster care charities.