Sleep and Sleep Hygiene of Adolescents With and Without ADHD During COVID-19

Objective: This study examined the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on the sleep and sleep hygiene of adolescents with ADHD and comorbid sleep problems and neurotypical adolescents (NT). Method: Four groups (two ADHD and two NT) of in total 100 adolescents (50 ADHD and 50 NT) were included. One ADHD and NT group were tested during many COVID-19 restrictions, the other during few. MANCOVAs were implemented with ADHD diagnosis and level of COVID-19 restrictions as independent and sleep outcomes (subjective and objective total sleep time (TST) and sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep and sleep hygiene problems) as dependent variables. Results: Both groups had a shorter objective TST during the week during many COVID-19 restrictions. Furthermore, adolescents with ADHD had a shorter subjective SOL during the weekend when there were many COVID-19 restrictions, while the SOL of the NT group stayed the same. Conclusion: COVID-19 restrictions are related to the sleep of adolescents with and without ADHD. However, causality and underlying mechanisms need further investigation.