Another 30% of patients will have breathing problems that interfere with sleep (e.g. apnea; enlarged tonsils and adenoids that block airflow), which must be addressed before considering other treatments for sleep and attention problems. All of these conditions will slow down our reaction time, our speed of decision making, and decrease our ability to pay attention to details while reading, writing, and completing math problems. It will also hurt our memory and “creative” problem solving ability.

If your diet seems ok, then make sure that you are limiting exposure to “blue” light which comes off of televisions, computer screens, tablets, and smart phones and blocks the brain’s ability to make melatonin (the chemical that triggers and maintains sleep). We recommend not using these kinds of devices 1.5 to 2.0 hours before bedtime.

You can also consider substituting the type of lightbulbs that you use in the rooms that you most use in the evening. The Good Night Bulb (available on Amazon) produces a bright light but eliminates the “blue” light spectrum. Controlled studies comparing use of this type of light with melatonin supplements indicated that it works just as well or better.

Some adults and teens have found that sleep aid apps (e.g. on Banzai Labs) can help to slow the brain down so that you can fall asleep. Because the brain will tend to “pulse” at the same rate as a dominant tone or light, use of this type of treatment (called Audio Visual Entrainment or A.V.E.) can help produce more rapid sleep onset. This can also be combined with aroma therapy using scents like lavender, chamomile, bergamot, jasmine, and rose.