Insomnia Severity in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder is Associated with Sensory Hyper-Reactivity and Social Skill Impairment

Overview

Journal J Autism Dev Disord

Publisher Springer

Date 2019 Feb 10

PMID 30737588

Citations 14

Authors

Vanessa D Hohn

Danielle M J de Veld

Kawita J S Mataw

Eus J W van Someren

Sander Begeer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Insomnia is a common source of distress in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two characteristics of ASD could be relevant to insomnia complaints by hampering the entrainment of a circadian sleep-wake rhythm. First, sensory hyper-reactivity could lead to bright light avoidance and thus affect photoperiodic input to the circadian system. Second, impaired social skills complicate the establishment of a social interactions and thus affect scheduled social-behavioral input to the circadian system. We investigated the association of insomnia severity with sensory reactivity and social skills in 631 adults (18-65 years) with ASD. Results revealed positive associations of insomnia severity with general and visual sensory hyper-reactivity and with impairment of social skills. The findings warrant further studies which (1) directly assess whether a suboptimal functioning of the biological clock underlies these associations and (2) identify other factors that could contribute to observed sleep problems.

Citing Articles

How auditory processing influences the autistic profile: A review.

Poulsen R, Williams Z, Dwyer P, Pellicano E, Sowman P, McAlpine D Autism Res. 2024; 17(12):2452-2470.

PMID: 39552096 PMC: 11638897. DOI: 10.1002/aur.3259.

Stress in autism (STREAM): A study protocol on the role of circadian activity, sleep quality and sensory reactivity.

Gernert C, Falter-Wagner C, Noreika V, Jachs B, Jassim N, Gibbs K PLoS One. 2024; 19(5):e0303209.

PMID: 38768146 PMC: 11104633. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303209.

The Impact of Weighted Blanket Use on Adults with Sensory Sensitivity and Insomnia.

Davis-Cheshire R, Bennington S, Hartsek A, Kelly T, Marinelli J, Perez A Occup Ther Int. 2023; 2023:3109388.

PMID: 38152339 PMC: 10752672. DOI: 10.1155/2023/3109388.

Management of sleep disorders in autism spectrum disorder with co-occurring attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: update for clinicians.

Petti T, Gupta M, Fradkin Y, Gupta N BJPsych Open. 2023; 10(1):e11.

PMID: 38088185 PMC: 10755553. DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2023.589.

Effects of chronic sleep restriction on the neuro-phenotypes of Ctnnd2 knockout mice.

Xu M, Wang X, Wang L, Wang S, Deng J, Wang Y Brain Behav. 2023; 13(7):e3075.

PMID: 37226399 PMC: 10338785. DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3075.

References

Tani P, Lindberg N, Nieminen-von Wendt T, von Wendt L, Alanko L, Appelberg B . Insomnia is a frequent finding in adults with Asperger syndrome. BMC Psychiatry. 2003; 3:12. PMC: 270035. DOI: 10.1186/1471-244X-3-12. View

Castronovo V, Galbiati A, Marelli S, Brombin C, Cugnata F, Giarolli L . Validation study of the Italian version of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Neurol Sci. 2016; 37(9):1517-24. DOI: 10.1007/s10072-016-2620-z. View

Hollway J, Aman M, Butter E . Correlates and risk markers for sleep disturbance in participants of the Autism Treatment Network. J Autism Dev Disord. 2013; 43(12):2830-43. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1830-y. View

Orsmond G, Krauss M, Seltzer M . Peer relationships and social and recreational activities among adolescents and adults with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2004; 34(3):245-56. DOI: 10.1023/b:jadd.0000029547.96610.df. View

Tavassoli T, Hoekstra R, Baron-Cohen S . The Sensory Perception Quotient (SPQ): development and validation of a new sensory questionnaire for adults with and without autism. Mol Autism. 2014; 5:29. PMC: 4005907. DOI: 10.1186/2040-2392-5-29. View

Buckley A, Rodriguez A, Jennison K, Buckley J, Thurm A, Sato S . Rapid eye movement sleep percentage in children with autism compared with children with developmental delay and typical development. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010; 164(11):1032-7. PMC: 3111973. DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.202. View

Bonnet M, Arand D . Hyperarousal and insomnia: state of the science. Sleep Med Rev. 2009; 14(1):9-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2009.05.002. View

Grandin L, Alloy L, Abramson L . The social zeitgeber theory, circadian rhythms, and mood disorders: review and evaluation. Clin Psychol Rev. 2006; 26(6):679-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2006.07.001. View

Limoges E, Bolduc C, Berthiaume C, Mottron L, Godbout R . Relationship between poor sleep and daytime cognitive performance in young adults with autism. Res Dev Disabil. 2013; 34(4):1322-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2013.01.013. View

10.

Hoekstra R, Vinkhuyzen A, Wheelwright S, Bartels M, Boomsma D, Baron-Cohen S . The construction and validation of an abridged version of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ-Short). J Autism Dev Disord. 2010; 41(5):589-96. PMC: 3076581. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-010-1073-0. View

11.

Piantoni G, Poil S, Linkenkaer-Hansen K, Verweij I, Ramautar J, van Someren E . Individual differences in white matter diffusion affect sleep oscillations. J Neurosci. 2013; 33(1):227-33. PMC: 6618630. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2030-12.2013. View

12.

Patzold L, Richdale A, Tonge B . An investigation into sleep characteristics of children with autism and Asperger's Disorder. J Paediatr Child Health. 1999; 34(6):528-33. DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1754.1998.00291.x. View

13.

Te Lindert B, Itzhacki J, van der Meijden W, Kringelbach M, Mendoza J, van Someren E . Bright environmental light ameliorates deficient subjective 'liking' in insomnia: an experience sampling study. Sleep. 2018; 41(4). DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsy022. View

14.

Mistlberger R, Skene D . Social influences on mammalian circadian rhythms: animal and human studies. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2004; 79(3):533-56. DOI: 10.1017/s1464793103006353. View

15.

Colombo M, Ramautar J, Wei Y, Gomez-Herrero G, Stoffers D, Wassing R . Wake High-Density Electroencephalographic Spatiospectral Signatures of Insomnia. Sleep. 2016; 39(5):1015-27. PMC: 4835299. DOI: 10.5665/sleep.5744. View

16.

Neuman A, Greenberg D, Labovitz D, Suzuki L . Cross-cultural adaptation of the Sensory Profile: establishing linguistic equivalency of the Hebrew version. Occup Ther Int. 2004; 11(2):112-30. DOI: 10.1002/oti.201. View

17.

Scheer F, Pirovano C, van Someren E, Buijs R . Environmental light and suprachiasmatic nucleus interact in the regulation of body temperature. Neuroscience. 2005; 132(2):465-77. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2004.12.012. View

18.

Diomedi M, Curatolo P, Scalise A, Placidi F, Caretto F, Gigli G . Sleep abnormalities in mentally retarded autistic subjects: Down's syndrome with mental retardation and normal subjects. Brain Dev. 1999; 21(8):548-53. DOI: 10.1016/s0387-7604(99)00077-7. View

19.

Hedley D, Uljarevic M, Cameron L, Halder S, Richdale A, Dissanayake C . Employment programmes and interventions targeting adults with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of the literature. Autism. 2016; 21(8):929-941. DOI: 10.1177/1362361316661855. View

20.

Mazurek M, Petroski G . Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: examining the contributions of sensory over-responsivity and anxiety. Sleep Med. 2015; 16(2):270-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.11.006. View