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Sleep and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Review of Diagnosis, Markers, Interventions, and Treatments

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Abstract

Purpose

Among the commonly encountered symptoms of autism are sleep disorders, which exist for reasons that are not only linked to the disorder but also, have a bidirectional relationship with the condition. Thus, autism promotes sleep disorders, but once established, the altered sleep patterns worsen both the core features of the disease as well as the conditions associated with it. The current review is aimed at exploring the interaction between sleep and autism.

Methods

A thorough search of published literature on ‘Sleep’ AND ‘Autism’ was conducted using major databases including: Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, EBSCO, PsychINFO, Global Health database and the Google Scholar search engine. All the significant findings highlighting their interaction and the management aspects are documented and discussed in detail.

Results

A sleep diary and parental questionnaires may be a good starting point for determining the extent of sleep disruption, though they are less accurate than objective assessment through polysomnography or actigraphy. Successful symptom reduction has been shown with a number of the better-known hypnotics. Melatonin appears to be useful in controlling sleep problems in autism, according to a large body of evidence.

Conclusion

Based on the available evidence, various management approaches are available to reduce the severity of some of the sleep symptoms associated with autism. This includes sleep hygiene, behavioral modifications, pharmacological treatments, melatonin supplementation, and other sleep-inducing medications.

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Data availability

This is a review paper of published articles available and indexed in the public domain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Deepa Burman

  2. Independent Researcher, Narayanapuram, Madurai, India

    Karthikeyan Ramanujam

  3. Department of Nursing, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia

    Dilshad Manzar

  4. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1C9, Canada

    Vijay Kumar Chattu

  5. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, India

    Vijay Kumar Chattu

  6. Independent Researcher, Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, M6K 2B4, Canada

    David Warren Spence

  7. Department of Psychiatry, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Nevin F. W. Zaki

  8. Ministry of Health, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

    Haitham Jahrami

  9. College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain

    Haitham Jahrami

  10. Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, SIMATS, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Seithikurippu R. Pandi-Perumal

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  1. Deepa Burman
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  8. Seithikurippu R. Pandi-Perumal
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Burman, D., Ramanujam, K., Manzar, D. et al. Sleep and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Review of Diagnosis, Markers, Interventions, and Treatments. Sleep Vigilance 7, 9–22 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41782-022-00222-3

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