Sleep is a natural period of rest for the brain and body, in which the eyes are usually closed and consciousness is partially or completely lost, thus reducing body movements and responses to environmental stimuli. During this process, the human and other mammalian brains go through a cycle of brain waves, and adequate sleep plays a vital role in the motor, mental, and cognitive development of children and adults. Adequate sleep is influenced by various factors such as age, genetics and some other factors. The US National Sleep Foundation provides adequate sleep for children one to two months 10.5 to 18 hours, for children 3 to 11 months, 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night and a half to 2 hours of daily nap, for children one to three years, 12 14 hours is recommended for children 3 to 5 years old, 11 to 12 hours and for children 5 to 12 years old, 10 to 11 hours. Lack of sleep can have adverse effects on endocrine function, cognitive function, metabolism, as well as inflammatory responses. Sleep complaints are very common in the general population and about 37% of people suffer from sleep problems. Sleep is one of the accompanying problems in patients with autism spectrum disorders. Because sleep and autism overlap neurobiologically, children with autism are prone to sleep disorders, and sleep disorders and daily drowsiness themselves may exacerbate the symptoms and behaviors of children with autism. Researchers estimate that between 40% and 80% of children with autism spectrum disorder have trouble sleeping. The most important sleep problems in these children are:
Difficulty falling asleep
Unstable sleep process
Restlessness or poor sleep quality
Premature awakening or frequent awakenings Defects in a good night's sleep affect not only the child but the whole family.
Therefore, awareness of these problems and efforts to solve them can be effective in increasing the level of family comfort and improving the quality of daily activities. Also, many of the behaviors that a child with autism, such as hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli, repetitive behaviors, difficulty in social perception, etc., are likely to contribute to sleep disorders in children; Therefore, sleep education and behavioral strategies should be the first line of treatment for sleep problems in children with autism.
