Sleep-wake timing delays in children with ADHD
Official title: Advancing Identification of Circadian Delay in ADHD Youth: Associations with Clinical Heterogeneity and Cognition
Funded at Duke University · NIH-11251981 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether delayed internal clocks and sleep schedules are linked to thinking, behavior, and different ADHD profiles in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $668,079 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH136425-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251981 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are school-age children with an ADHD diagnosis, especially ages about 6–11 years who have trouble falling asleep or irregular sleep schedules.
✕Less likely to help
Children or adults with ADHD who do not have delayed sleep timing or whose sleep problems are strictly due to behavioral or environmental factors may not directly benefit from circadian-focused approaches.
What this research studies
Researchers will enroll children with ADHD (primarily in middle childhood) and collect sleep information using sleep diaries, wearable sleep trackers, and biological markers of circadian timing such as melatonin onset. Children will also complete tests of attention, memory, and measures of sluggish cognitive tempo and other co-occurring symptoms. The team will compare children whose sleep problems arise from daytime behaviors versus those with an underlying circadian delay to identify distinct subgroups. The goal is to learn which kids might respond best to sleep-focused treatments matched to their biology or routines.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help match children with ADHD to sleep-focused treatments that better improve attention, mood, and daily functioning.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research links delayed circadian timing to ADHD and shows melatonin and behavioral sleep treatments can improve sleep, but using biological circadian measures to define ADHD subgroups in middle childhood is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lunsford-Avery, Jessica Ruth — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Lunsford-Avery, Jessica Ruth
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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.