The ADHD Bedtime Guide: How to Help Your Kid with ADHD Go to Sleep
Published: 1 Oct 2025
[In our last article, we shared some DOs and DON’Ts that can help parents navigate what to do when they suspect their child has ADHD. This month, we take a look at how ADHD affects sleep, and how to help kids with ADHD improve their sleep quality.
Many children who have ADHD are notorious for being poor sleepers. In one study, 70% of parents of children with ADHD reported difficulties with their child’s sleep (1). Another study indicated that children with ADHD often have sleep problems, which range from resisting bedtime to difficulty falling asleep to waking up in the middle of the night (2).
At Neural Connections, trouble sleeping is a common theme among the children we see at the centre. Parents often share that children don’t get enough sleep, that they wake up tired, and they are awake much earlier than they are supposed to. So, what can you, as a parent, do?
Why is sleep so important?
Sleep is the body’s natural way of healing and restoring itself. For children who are still growing and developing, sleep plays a crucial function in their development, and cognitive function. Sleep helps with memory, attention, and emotional regulation. Studies have shown how sleep or napping clears the brain so that it can be filled again with new information (3). For children who are growing and learning, the importance of sleep cannot be underestimated.
In Singapore, the sleep guidelines by Singhealth are as follows (4):
Newborns: 16-20 hours
Infants (less than 1 year old): 13-15 hours
Toddlers and preschool children (2-5 years): 11-12 hours
School- age children: 10-11 hours
Hyperactive kids and sleep
For many kids with ADHD, poor sleep often means an increased load on a nervous system that is already taxed and stressed out. When children don’t sleep well, it leads to a vicious cycle of dysregulation that compounds over time. This leads to an exacerbation in their ADHD symptoms or comorbidities (other conditions that become worse with ADHD).
This is why we’ve put together this useful guide on how to help kids with ADHD sleep better:
Building a healthy bedtime routine
For our kids with ADHD, depending on just the clock to tell them when bedtime is supposed to be is just not enough. Their bodies often need more than only a visual reminder that it’s bedtime.
One way to do this is to add sensory cues to communicate to the brain, and the body that the day is now over and it is time to wind down for a good rest. What this looks like can be, starting the bedtime routine with bath/shower time, dimming down the lights, playing gentle music, speaking in hushed tones and using calming scents on the corner of their pillow. Some experts suggest switching out bright fluorescent lights for warmer tones during nighttime to help the body tune in better to natural circadian rhythms. These visual, auditory, olfactory (smell), tactile (touch) sensorial examples can be used at the same time every night for consistency. The key is building up good habits over a period of time so that the brain gets used to these cues.
We also love asking parents to apply the MNRI embrace-squeeze technique to their children during bedtime as it helps soothe the nervous system and settle the body for sleep. This is also a wonderful way to bond and connect together with a wind-down conversation about their day prior to sleep.Maintaining a bedtime routine
Once we’ve built a bedtime routine, parents need to maintain boundaries around bedtime. Children will often resist habits that we know are good for them and can be quite clever in coming up with excuses and drag things out!
A good strategy is starting the routine way earlier to give more time for winding down. This can also help everyone involved (including parents) be more grounded and regulated.
What can also be useful is to discuss potential consequences that you can and will follow through with ahead of time. These discussions will need to happen with your children outside of bedtime, when they are fairly regulated. Informing them earlier gives them time to adjust to the new information. For example, you can say that an hourglass timer will be used to show them the time that they have to say good night, and after the sand runs out, you will walk out if they continue to fuss. Involving them in the discussion ahead of time also allows children to take responsibility for their own actions and buy into the plan.Daytime habits are important too
Beyond just the routine around bedtime, you can also be more mindful of your child’s daily activities. If your child’s schedule revolves around being indoors, especially just going from home to school and back, consider adding in outdoor playtime. For kids with ADHD, exercising outside, being exposed to natural elements is very beneficial for their nervous system. This helps adjust circadian rhythms, helping to boost melatonin production at night time. Movements and “hard work” that give the proprioception a good work out include: tug of war, wheelbarrow walks, hanging from the monkey bar, piggyback rides, climbing wall, ladders, and last but not least, jumping.
A crucial and often repeated advice is reducing screen time, especially in the 1-2 hours before bedtime. Blue light from screens impede the production of melatonin, and this affects your child’s ability to stay asleep throughout the night. We recommend leaving gadgets (phones, tablets, TVs) outside children’s bedrooms overnight to avoid undesirable behaviour and to reduce EMF exposure which may cause changes in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.Diet & supplements - what goes inside also counts
Foods rich in magnesium, GABA and glycine can help in achieving quality sleep. Some of these include bone broth, cherry tomatoes, flax seeds and mung beans. At the same time, reducing and cutting out sugars and processed foods help reduce inflammation and stabilise cortisol levels, which help promote a better night’s sleep overall.
Supplements may be especially helpful when establishing a routine. If your child is not getting the above nutrients through their food, introducing magnesium supplements can help. If the child is very sleep deprived, melatonin (regular and slow-release) can be an option to help your child stay asleep throughout the night. Always speak to a trusted professional if you have questions regarding supplements.
In today’s world where there are many distractions for families, getting to sleep, and getting quality sleep, will take some effort and consistency. When children have ADHD, helping them get to sleep is paramount to help them manage their emotions and behaviour throughout the day.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18391142/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3022790/
https://www.singhealth.com.sg/symptoms-treatments/good-sleep-habits-for-children
At Neural Connections, we focus on offering treatment and protocols to help neurodiverse children regulate their emotions and behaviour better. Schedule a Discovery Call with us today to see if we can help.
References
[2] American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
