I've noted a link between aspergers and sleep disorders.
My son takes hours to go to sleep and is sometimes awake in the middle of the night. I used to think that it was his ritalin (he's on it for his ADHD/ADD) but I noticed that when he has a break from the ritalin, during school holidays for example, his sleeplessness is unchanged.
I also remember from my own childhood and most of my adulthood, that I had sleeping problems too. I still do occasionally though these days, the dual stresses of work and family combine to make me tired enough to drop off.
I've also learned to cope with sleeplessness better by staying up until I really feel tired then going straight to the bedroom with my eyes partially close and without talking or doing any "thinking" work. In winter, I even go so far as to wrap myself in a doona (blanket) while watching TV and staying "wrapped" all the way to the bedroom. Even so, it's fairly common for me to go to bed at between 11.30pm and 2am and wake up at 5.30am.
Empirical Evidence
I decided to have a quick look around the internet to see if there have been any studies about the link between sleeplessness and aspergers.
I found an interesting set of links on medopedia;
I noticed that they spelt Asperger's differently but I don't think it impacts on the quality of their research.
Aspberger’s Syndrome Sleep Disorders Linkages
http://www.medopedia.com/asperger-sleep-disorders-linkages
Anyway, probably the most interesting quote in their article is as follows;
This is significant because;
Do Children with Autism Sleep Less?
Strangely enough, the studies don't seem to look at sleep patterns in aspergers adults, which I can confirm are similar. They also don't seem to ask whether or not there is a reduced need for sleep in aspergers children.
Speculation: perhaps it's linked with hyptonia and "reduced energetic play", a common trait in aspie children.
My son takes hours to go to sleep and is sometimes awake in the middle of the night. I used to think that it was his ritalin (he's on it for his ADHD/ADD) but I noticed that when he has a break from the ritalin, during school holidays for example, his sleeplessness is unchanged.
I also remember from my own childhood and most of my adulthood, that I had sleeping problems too. I still do occasionally though these days, the dual stresses of work and family combine to make me tired enough to drop off.
I've also learned to cope with sleeplessness better by staying up until I really feel tired then going straight to the bedroom with my eyes partially close and without talking or doing any "thinking" work. In winter, I even go so far as to wrap myself in a doona (blanket) while watching TV and staying "wrapped" all the way to the bedroom. Even so, it's fairly common for me to go to bed at between 11.30pm and 2am and wake up at 5.30am.
Empirical Evidence
I decided to have a quick look around the internet to see if there have been any studies about the link between sleeplessness and aspergers.
I found an interesting set of links on medopedia;
I noticed that they spelt Asperger's differently but I don't think it impacts on the quality of their research.
Aspberger’s Syndrome Sleep Disorders Linkages
http://www.medopedia.com/asperger-sleep-disorders-linkages
Anyway, probably the most interesting quote in their article is as follows;
| According to the results, 50 percent of the children with AS were disinclined to go to bed. 75 percent had a need for a light or television in the bedroom, 87 percent had difficulty getting to sleep at night and 75 percent fell asleep sweating. Also, 50 percent felt unrefreshed when waking up in the morning, 87 percent had difficulty waking up in the morning and 87 percent felt sleepy during the day. |
This is significant because;
- It's possible that some of the side-effects of Ritalin in Asperger's children may have been misrepresented - though it's not particularly likely.
- More importantly, I know that there are a lot of aspies out there who are using medications which have sleeplessness as a side-effect. We need to be aware that when combined with the natural sleeplessness of aspies, these effects may be greater than they would be in other children.
Do Children with Autism Sleep Less?
Strangely enough, the studies don't seem to look at sleep patterns in aspergers adults, which I can confirm are similar. They also don't seem to ask whether or not there is a reduced need for sleep in aspergers children.
Speculation: perhaps it's linked with hyptonia and "reduced energetic play", a common trait in aspie children.
Comments
Some of my sleep issues, I think, were related to hypothyroidism, but not all. I have three kids, and three grands all on the spectrum and at least four of us have sleep issues.
I need sound on to go to sleep. TV, audio book, etc. Always have preferred that. My granddaughters need sound all night as does my daughter and one son.
As a child I had to have a light on besides my bed all night. Now as an adult I turn down all lights, but always have a hard time getting to sleep. I'll feel sleepy all day, sometimes even falling asleep for a few seconds in the office. Then again at night time, I'll be wide awake.
Kinda sucks if your boss wants you to be at work on time. Why is this world so tolerant for foreigners, homosexuals, disabled people, people of different religious beliefs, etc. yet wouldn't accept those who are 'neurodiverse' or just of a different 'chronotype'?
I'd laugh at everybody's stupidity if it wasn't that serious.
You mentioned your son takes Rydalin. Is it necessary and have you sought out alternatives. I have little faith or interest in introducing prescription drugs in to my childs life. These are my feelings so please don't take offensively.
We did try a number of natural alternatives including diet and fish oil. We were also encouraged to test alternate drugs but none of these had the 50+ years of clinical trials that Ritalin had.
The difference in my son on and off Ritalin is enormous and it doesn't "control" him or suppress his cute, quirky nature.
At this stage Ritalin is a positive influence in his life but we don't medicate on weekends or holidays as our aim is to allow him to learn to contol himself without medication so that he can get off Ritalin as soon as possible.
We've checked extensively into the negative reports on Ritalin but most of the empirical research in the negative seems to have been conducted by the Church of Scientology, who have a different agenda.
He also took Melatonin for awhile.
My blog is about him and is supposed to be humorous. I titled it "Brilliant Spectrum Child" and sub-titled it "The Adventures of Orangeboy and his Antagonists".
Please visit and feel free to give me your opinion. http://spectrumkids.blogspot.com
My 9 yr old son is an Aspie, is on no medication and has an awful time going to sleep every single night. Every night. Tonight we caught him sleepwalking (done this before). He actually peed in our fridge! Poor guy.
I don't think that I ever sleepwalked as a child but I know some NTs who have - so it's not an aspie trait.
Re: Causes of sleepwalking...
In children, the cause is usually unknown but may be related to fatigue, prior sleep loss, or anxiety"
from: http://neurology.health-cares.net/sleepwalking-causes.php
Your aspergers child is almost certainly experiencing sleep loss (and probably fatigue) but you might want to talk to him about his day to determine if there's any anxiety.
You can't make your son go to sleep if it isn't happening naturally but you can give him a low strength bed-lamp and a book (or depending how you feel about it, television).
The idea behind this is to get his mind of the problems of the day - as this is often a reason behind sleep difficulty.
You could also benefit from having some rules laid down - eg: Must stay in bed and read if you can't sleep to avoid him waking himself up fully.
A perfect example of both picking your battles and making the best of your aspie's talents and situation.
Home schooling is quite controversial in some areas because of the poor perception that some people have. I don't think that this is helped by cartoons like South Park who make Home-Schooled children out to be completely unable to socialize with other children.
Strangely enough, the reverse is usually the case. Home schooled children seem to learn better both academically and socially.
My children both go to a normal school but my eldest has been struggling of late. I've found that an hour of one-on-one work with his tutor provides much greater benefit than an entire week in a class of thirty.
A similar thing happens to the social skills of children who spend much of the day negotiating the social situations during the day (shopping etc) with their mother. These situations expose the children to a greater depth of conversation than they would get from the playground at school.
This means that she'll go to bed at night, if we are still up then she will generally fall asleep, but as soon as we go to bed she wakes up and then is unable to go back to sleep. This then results in her coming into our room every few minutes begging me to sleep with her. Most nights I try to resist, but by 3am it is very difficult to keep calm and continue to say 'no darling, go back to bed, good girl.'
Does anyone else have any experience of this problem and how best to deal with it?
Do you or they fall asleep when curled up in the bed with you, if you rub their back or head, sleep with cushions or heavy blankets piled on them???
The book "Look Me in the Eye" by John Elder Robinson talks about how he has trouble sleeping but feels a sense of "safety and comfort" with his wife sleeping beside him, that he even will move a foot or arm to touch hers during the night. He goes back to sleep quickly when he does this.
I have had this same sensation when I am able to have my arm, leg or sleep "back to back". Looking back, all my life I needed the heavy blankets for that "enclosed" feeling. I read this chapter while lying in bed and quickly realized why I have so many pillows surrounding me in bed.
This has helped me to some degree (am now divorced...have to substitute the man for pillows for the time being). I did have a boyfriend for awhile and sure enough, no night medication needed. I was asleep instantly...and no it was not because of any "activity" beforehand!!! It was as simple as having a foot against his leg.
Watch what makes you or your child fall asleep, see if it has something to do with this feeling of security. To curl up in a closet or other small space is also common.
The dyslexic needs at least 12 hours. The AS child can't sleep.
I'm now home-schooling, which has brought some semblance of sanity to our lives :-)
One thing that I think has helped is a fish tank. Makes nice background noise, subtile light / light patterns, gentle movement of fish etc. When he wakes up, he just watches the fish.
Also have recently gotten a weighted blanket and feel that it is helping to reduce nighttime wake-ups.
Also wanted to comment on the security angle. I definatly think this is a factor. He likes to 'snuggle' and tends to fall asleep much more quickly when I allow him to snuggle with me as he drifts off to sleep.
I hate nights when I don't sleep, and that is part of the reason I like a light at night. I am too old to get up and focus on a project, so I just lie there and am awake.
I am looking for a sleep specialist to take him to, but also wanted to see if this particular behavior is related to Asp.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bryan
It sounds to me like your son is not entering a fully wakened state, similar to somnambulism (sleepwalking). It also sort of sounds like a very high amount of sleep inertia. You might try having the lights come on up to 30 minutes before you expect him to get up.
I would think that a sleep specialist would definitely be worth consulting if his behavior is long term.
and it's true i have awful sleep patterns
I'm writing here because I googled “asperger sleep” and found this post interesting.
For the last eight years or so – since halfway through middle school – I've been having a similar issue as described in the last couple of posts; coma in the morning.
The problem is course more comprehensive than that, but the primary issue since middle school, has been that I'm unable to respond to the outer world in the morning (or whatever you can call it after 12pm). I'm just in this crazy state of comatose; flickering in and out of something dream-ish, while almost unable to move because my whole body feels numb - and yet comfortable - like if I where affected by some drug. And it usually takes a long time for me to really wake up and think straight. And I remember well when it started, because every morning was like waking up in hell...
I'm totally dependent on Melatonin to have anything remotely close to a rhythm. And even that faint hint of a rhythm constantly shifts, so it's never really stable.. I've been diagnosed with circadian rhythm disorder, but it doesn't make sense. It's like I have a really low quality sleep – and therefore have to sleep a lot (often ~12h), which makes the rhythm shift – as I already have problems getting to sleep in the first place. Sleeping on command just doesn't work and I'm hopelessly dependent on having a TV on.
And the dreams I'm having... Where do I start.. I need to start writing down my dreams!
I haven't really thought of AS as the answer to my sleeping disorders – but the data is evident!
However, when I'm in bed and turn off the light, a lot of things come to my mind and I cannot fall asleep. I found this particularly strange in a person who has a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.
He has a probable Asperger's DX (couple's therp didn't disagree) as well as Fibromyalgia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (currently treated with BiPAP).
We're not entirely sure how things intersect. The pulmonologist who orders his sleep studies has been focused on treating the apnea and we haven't put any effort into getting him onto a vaguely 24 hour day as opposed to a 20-60 hour day. I suspect he may need to see his neurologist rather than the pulmonologist to make more headway.
I've tried sleeping tablets but they didn't actually affect me the way they're supposed to. I didn't fall asleep after taking them - which might be because I seem to be immune to a whole host of pharmaceuticals (including anaesthetic which just sucks).
I've actually been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome but literally right on the border with Autism itself. As a result, I find it incredibly difficult getting my mind to stop long enough for me to 'wind down' and actually sleep. Indeed, most of the time I can be awake for two or three days straight because I've got an idea in my head that I can't get rid of until I actually do it.
I think a major part of the whole 'getting to sleep' thing is routine. If I have a routine that I carry out often enough then I start to associate that with sleeping and rest, but eventually even the routine fails when I... don't know, adapt? to it.
I used to sleep with a light in my room when I was younger and then with the door open, and now I can sleep without a light in my room but only if the landing light is on.
For the most part, when I try to get to sleep, I need either complete silence or classical music playing (normally Hans Zimmer) in headphones, in order to relax enough to fall asleep. It can be frustrating at times...
The study found that sleep onset latency — the time it takes to fall asleep once in bed — ranged from as little as roughly 10 minutes for some children to more than 40 minutes for others. But physical activity during the day and sleep onset at night were closely linked: every hour of sedentary activity during the day resulted in an additional three minutes in the time it took to fall asleep at night. And the children who fell asleep faster ultimately slept longer, getting an extra hour of sleep for every 10-minute reduction in the time it took them to drift off.
Studies on adults have reached generally similar results, showing that an increase in physical activity improves sleep onset and increases sleep duration, particularly in people who have trouble sleeping.
While it stinks having to take something, it is better than not sleeping and has made life possible. I also believe the alprazolam and the sleep have made my AS better by reducing my anxiety and utter exhaustion. So much so that no one would ever suspect AS, in fact I was surprised to find out. I always just thought I had a difficult time socializing, especially as a child. Oddly, people now think of me as very good at communicating. If they only knew what was going on inside half the time!
Be warned though. I'm currently trying to ween myself off because after 15 years or so taking it, I am starting to have sexual side affects I don't like. Of course, the sleep problems are right back.
Also, it has helped me to find something to listen to to fall asleep. I used to use the TV but now I listen to a recording of something inspiring. It's the same recording every time, so my brain tunes it out and I'm never awake by the end, and usually out within 10 minutes. Without it or TV it's much more difficult or even impossible. If (when) I wake up in the middle of the night I just hit play and do it again.
Also, you can't just stop alprazolam cold turkey or you could give yourself heart attack.
Good luck to everyone. I will check back in if I stumble onto something. I'm determined to find the right combination of environment, exercise, and medicine.
Not sure if this is helping or not, just something I came over today. I had never heard of it before. But when I think about it it does help me sleep sometimes when I snuggly wrap myself in my duvet (a form of a thick blanket).
The "hug machine" might not be directly relating to sleep disorders, but it is related to autism spectrum disorders. So I just thought I post it.
- Guy, 40-ish, whos circadian rhytm (or "day") is turning all the time. Roughly 2-3 times a month I turn it back to normal (and the opposite). I have like 20-40 hour days, but normally I guess 25-ish.
intramax scam
My 10 year old has done this same thing since infancy. He also sleepwalks in a similar state sometimes. It is night terrors/sleep terrors. It is like a dream-like state. even though sometimes he appears to be awake, he is in deep sleep. It is especially likely to happen after a day with something that caused a lot of anxiety or being overwhelmed. It is not uncommon with ASD.
I've always thought I should be on a planet with 12h sleep 24h awake pattern.
I usually find it easier to fall asleep when I meditate although I don't always feel like it.
Sometimes it's extremely exhausting when combined with work. I'm currently away from home so not even my girlfriend can force me to sleep. Last 5 nights I've slept a total of 14h45min.
"Insomnia Causes Of Poor Sleep