Differences in sleep patterns, sleepiness, and physical activity levels between young adults with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing controls

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the differences in sleep, sleepiness, and physical activity (PA) between young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing controls (TDC).

Method: Actigraphic data and questionnaires on sleep, sleepiness, and PA were compared between fifteen adults with ASD (ADOS range 7–19; ages 22.8 ± 4.5 years) and TDC.

Results: In comparison to the TDC group, the ASD group slept longer on average per night but took longer to fall asleep. In relationship to PA levels, the objective PA levels were lower in the ASD group than the TDC group. Fewer wake minutes during the sleep period in the ASD sample were associated with more PA the following day.

Conclusion: The findings support previous research that demonstrates differences in sleep parameters and PA between ASD and TDC. Interventions aimed at increasing PA in an ASD population may be beneficial for improved sleep.

KEYWORDS:

• Actigraphy
• autism spectrum disorder
• insomnia
• physical activity
• Pittsburgh sleep quality index
• sleep onset latency

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Child Development Centre, Ability Hub (Calgary, AB) for their generous donation of clinical space. We would like to thank Ambulatory Monitoring Inc. for their assistance with equipment education. This work was supported in part by MITACs Accelerate Program and CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s Program. Finally, we would like to thank the participants and their families for their invaluable contribution to this project.

Ethical Approval

The Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board of the University of Calgary approved the study, and the entire study was performed in accordance to the Declaration of Helsinki.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program; MITACs Accelerate Program; GoodLife Fitness Canada.