Adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Behavioral Health in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a 24-hour disorder that both impacts, and, is impacted by, daily activity and sleep. Children with ADHD are less likely to meet recommended 24-hour movement guidelines (ie, on average 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity and several hours of light activity per day, less than 2 h of screen time, and 9-11 h of sleep). The current study examined associations between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines with ADHD symptoms, sleep problems, and media use.

Accelerometer data measured physical activity and sleep among a sample of 93 children with ADHD (mean age = 8.10, SDage = 1.37, 58.9% male). Parent-report measures assessed ADHD symptoms, sleep difficulties, and media use. Multivariate analysis of covariance analyses explored associations between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and outcomes. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified unique combinations of 24-hour movement guideline adherence. Associations were examined between classes and outcomes.

Overall, 41.5% of children met physical activity guidelines, 23.4% met sedentary behavior guidelines, and 45.7% met sleep guidelines. Multivariate analysis of covariance analyses found that meeting more guidelines was associated with less sleep difficulties and problematic media use. LCA revealed 2 classes: Hypoactive children who were unlikely to meet activity guidelines and Work Hard, Play Hard children who were likely to meet activity and sleep guidelines. Children in the Work Hard, Play Hard class had less bedtime resistance compared with the Hypoactive class.

Findings have implications for clinicians and caregivers supporting children with ADHD to take a holistic approach to improve health behaviors throughout the whole day.