Study: Weighted Blankets Help Kids with ADHD Sleep Longer, Better

November 28, 2023

Weighted blankets help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who struggle with sleep disorders by improving both sleep quality and duration, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sleep Research.¹ While the results revealed weighted blankets can be beneficial for all children with ADHD, the effects were particularly notable in children aged 11 to 14 years with inattentive type ADHD.

Specifically, the study found that weighted blankets increased sleep duration by 8 minutes, on average, for all study participants and by 16 minutes, on average, for children aged 11 to 14 with inattentive ADHD. The study also found that children without weighted blankets were awake for three minutes more during the night, on average, than were children with weighted blankets.

Children with ADHD frequently experience a host of sleep problems including difficulty falling asleep, waking throughout the night, daytime sleepiness, and circadian abnormalities. A recent systematic review of research revealed that short sleep duration is linked to ADHD,² and another study found that children with ADHD sleep less overall, compared with children who don’t have ADHD.³

“A lack of sleep can lead to other health problems, including a weakened immune system, a dysregulated appetite and metabolism, and moodiness,” explains Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D., in his ADDitude article “How to Fall Asleep with a Rowdy, Racing ADHD Brain.” “Sleep problems also exacerbate executive functioning skills like memory, concentration, and problem solving, which are already weakened by ADHD.”

Weighted blankets have long been observed to exert a calming effect on adults and children alike, prompting researchers to understand the therapeutic potential of this simple, non-pharmacological intervention to improve the sleep of children with ADHD.

The randomized controlled study included 94 children with ADHD and verified sleep problems, with a mean age of 9, who were sorted into two groups: the first used a weighted blanket for sleep, while the second group used a lighter control blanket. Researchers collected data using actigraphy at 0, 4, and 8 weeks, and they asked parents and children to complete questionnaires as well as a daily sleep diary.

The study found that weighted blankets improved sleep efficiency (percentage of time spent asleep while in bed), as well as total sleep time and waking during the night. The weighted blankets had no effect on the amount of time it took children to fall asleep.

Sleep Disorders in Children with ADHD

In a recent survey of ADDitude readers, 66% of caregivers said that their children with ADHD showed noticeable signs of sleep difficulty from a very early age (under 3). Of those:

• 61% reported frequent night wakings
• 72% reported shorter sleep duration due to difficulty falling asleep

“My son always took upwards of two or three hours to fall asleep, even when exhausted, due to busy brain and intrusive thoughts, which scared him,” says Helena, an ADDitude reader from York. “Even at four years old, he would ask, ‘How do I get my thoughts to stop?’”

“My goal is always to have the kids in bed before 8:30 and I am often chasing them down at 9:30. It often just feels impossible,” shares ADDitude reader Abigail from Michigan. “Then in the morning they do not want to wake up since they haven’t slept nearly enough, and they are often late for school.”

These early sleep problems often persist and may grow more intense through childhood into adulthood, says William Dodson, M.D., in his ADDitude article, “ADHD and Sleep Problems: This is Why You’re Always Tired.” Dodson shares that, in his experience, 10 to 15 percent of pre-pubertal children with ADHD have trouble getting to sleep; by age 12 ½, that number rises to 50% and by the age of 30, more than 70% of people with ADHD report that they spend more than one hour trying to fall asleep.

How to Improve Sleep in Kids with ADHD

Theories that attempt to explain the cause of sleep disturbance in people with ADHD abound, and they include biological, genetic, and behavioral explanations. Regardless of how the sleep problems are understood, Dodson explains: “The remedy usually involves ‘sleep hygiene,’ which considers all the things that foster the initiation and maintenance of sleep. This set of conditions is highly individualized. Some people need absolute silence. Others need white noise, such as a fan or radio, to mask disturbances to sleep.”

The new study confirms that, for many children with ADHD, weighted blankets may be a piece in the sleep hygiene puzzle.

Natasha, an ADDitude reader in Perth, shares that her son had significant difficulty falling asleep, but he was able to find interventions that helped, including a weighted blanket. “He likes having my hand on his tummy; looking back, that was probably the equivalent of his weighted blanket he has now.”

Faith, in Missouri, shares a similar story of sleep onset challenges for her son, and the trial-and-error process that resulted in effective solutions: “We learned he needed darkness, white noise, a routine of songs sung to him, and eventually a modest weighted blanket.”

“Various interventions need to be available in clinical practice to target children’s different needs and purposes for intervention, as the preferences of families struggling with sleep problems may differ” write the authors of the new study. “Weighted blankets can provide an important addition to current sleep intervention practices.”

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