This study investigated the relative impact of total time slept per night and daytime sleepiness on the academic functioning of 100 middle school-aged youth (mean age = 11.9) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The primary goal of the study was to determine if total time slept per night and/or daytime sleepiness, as measured by youth self-report on the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), predicted academic functioning above and beyond symptoms of ADHD and relevant covariates, such as intelligence, achievement scores and parent education level. Self-reported daytime sleepiness but not self-reported total time slept per night was associated significantly with all academic outcomes. When examined in a hierarchical regression model, self-reported daytime sleepiness significantly predicted parent-rated homework problems and academic impairment and teacher-rated academic competence above and beyond symptoms of ADHD and relevant covariates, but did not predict grade point average or teacher-rated academic impairment. The implications of these findings for understanding more clearly the association between ADHD and sleep and the functional implications of this relationship are discussed.
