this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2025
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It's both.
We're finding that even things like microplastics are causing changes that's not fully understood. There's even a recent study that links an increase in histamine to worsened ADHD symptoms.
And then there are things like poor sleep hygiene when very young can trigger a development of ADHD later on.
FTFY. Correlation≠Causation, especially in cases like you mentioned. It’s a chicken and egg scenario.
Are kids getting ADHD because they didn’t sleep well? Or is poor sleep hygiene an early indicator of ADHD? Lots of people with ADHD have poor sleep hygiene, even as adults. Many will struggle with things like Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, because they get their biggest bursts of focus late at night when everyone else is asleep, the brain is releasing dopamine to keep them awake, and distractions are limited. Every single adult with ADHD has stories about getting focused on a project right before bedtime, then suddenly realizing the birds are chirping outside their window and the sun is rising.
The research shows that poor sleep hygiene can be a trigger for ADHD related symptoms. Poor sleep hygiene is not the same as "didn't sleep well". Poor sleep hygiene is not going to bed at an appropriate time, going to bed at wildly different times each night, blue light exposure within 2 hours of bedtime, etc.
The ages of 0 - 4 years are the most crucial for brain development. It's why newborns sleep several times a day. The brain hasn't finished forming by the time they are born. Even at the age of 3, kids are still napping mid-day. And those naps are extremely critical for healthy brain development.
So without good sleep hygiene, it can stunt brain development in a way that results in ADHD, or ADHD like symptoms.
I have ADHD and DSPS. The reason people with DSPS feel awake at night is due to an issue with melatonin production. The brain doesn't release melatonin normally (or at all) so the natural "feeling sleepy" signal never comes. I take prescription tryptophan and I've never slept better in my life. My "natural" sleep time in 2/3am and waking up is 10/11am. But with tryptophan I can have a "normal" sleep schedule.
And that's another interesting thing. Kids diagnosed with ADHD can see improved outcomes when they are given tryptophan to help regulate sleep.
Btw, if you're wondering. Tryptophan is an amino acid, and you can get it in pills that have medically measured doses. Why not just take melatonin? Well tryptophan metabolizes into melatonin and serotonin. It's a guaranteed way to get melatonin.
Off the shelf melatonin pills aren't regulated with dosages the same way. In fact, a pill in a 10mg melatonin bottle might only have 1mg of melatonin or even 15mg. They aren't reliable, and the other issue is that melatonin tends to not be bioavailable enough to work reliably. Tryptophan is very bioavailable. It's the stuff in turkey that makes people sleepy after eating it.
Edit: grammar
😌this is so me, lol
Some Linux and some DnB and the night is gone 🤣