Effects of physical activity on suicidal ideation and sleep disturbances in adolescents with attention-deficit...

The current study aimed to investigate whether aerobic exercise-based physical activity (PA) intervention can reduce suicidal ideation (SI) and alleviate sleep disturbances in adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In this assessor-masked, multicenter, two-group randomized controlled trial, 72 adolescents with ADHD (Meanage = 14.71 ± 1.64 years) were randomly assigned to either the exercise group or the control group. Participants in the exercise group attended a 12-week aerobic exercise-based PA consisting of a 60-min session per week. SI was assessed using a self-report questionnaire, and sleep disturbances were evaluated with a parent-report questionnaire. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at the immediate end of the intervention.

Repeated analyses of variance with a 2 (time: Time 0 vs. Time 1) x 2 (group: Exercise group vs. Control group) mixed-model design revealed that participants in the exercise group reported significantly reduced SI (F = 5.68, p = .02, ηp² = 0.09) and sleep disturbances (F = 7.11, p = .01, ηp² = 0.11). Further analysis suggested that four subdomains of sleep disturbances were significantly decreased, including bedtime resistance (F = 14.61, p < .001, ηp² = 0.21), sleep anxiety (F = 6.41, p = .01, ηp² = 0.10), night awakenings (F = 6.31, p = .02, ηp² = 0.10), and sleep disordered breathing (F = 6.44, p = .01, ηp² = 0.10).

The findings suggest that aerobic exercise-based PA may serve as an alternative or complementary approach to alleviate SI and sleep disturbances in adolescents with ADHD.