Sleep medicines and interactions in children and teens with ADHD
Official title: ADHD and Sleep: Evaluating the Impact of Drug-Drug and Drug-Disease Interactions to Inform Care
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11322682 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at how common sleep medicines and ADHD treatments interact and what that means for children's and teens' sleep and safety.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $643,348 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH135875-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11322682 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children and adolescents with ADHD who have sleep problems and who are taking or considering stimulant medications or commonly prescribed sleep medicines.
✕Less likely to help
Adults without ADHD, young people who do not take sleep medicines or stimulants, or those outside the study's age range are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From my point of view, researchers will follow children and adolescents with ADHD who have sleep problems and who are prescribed sleep medicines or stimulants. They will analyze health records and prescription data to check links between five commonly used sleep drugs (trazodone, benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics, alpha-blockers, and hydroxyzine) and serious outcomes like overdose, heart problems, suicidal behavior, or hallucinations. The project pays special attention to whether risks are higher when these sleep medicines are used alongside stimulant medications for ADHD. The goal is to produce information that helps doctors choose safer treatments for youth with ADHD and sleep problems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could produce clearer guidance so clinicians and families choose safer sleep treatments and reduce serious side effects in children and teens with ADHD.
How similar studies have gone: There are few rigorous safety studies of these sleep medicines in children, so adult studies hint at risks but this project fills an important gap for youth-specific evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bushnell, Greta — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Bushnell, Greta
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.