Examining the impact of physical activity on sleep quality in children with autism through melatonin-mediated model: A RCT

Choi Yeung Andy TSE, P. H. LEE, J. ZHANG, E. W. H. LAI

Research output: Contribution to conferencePoster

Abstract

Objectives: In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether physical activity is an effective intervention to improve sleep quality for children with ASD. Moreover, we also investigated how physical activity impacts on sleep in children with ASD through a melatonin-mediated mechanism model. According to this model, it is suggested that physical activity could affect circadian rhythm by altering melatonin levels. Melatonin levels are generally lower in children with ASD than in their typically developing counterparts and supplemental melatonin medication is often used to treat sleep disturbance in this population.

Methods: We conducted a parallel-group randomized controlled trial of 28 child participants with ASD that compared a jogging intervention group and a control group receiving standard care. We have monitored the changes of their sleep quality as depicted by four sleep parameters (sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset and sleep duration) through objective actigraphic assessment and parental sleep logs. To measure melatonin level, all participants were instructed to collect a 24-h urine sample. 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, a creatinine-adjusted morning urinary melatonin representative of the participant’s melatonin levels, were measured from the sample. All assessments were carried out before the intervention (T1) and immediately after the 12 weeks of physical activity or regular treatment (T2).

Results: The present study revealed a significant improvement between T1 and T2 in sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency and sleep duration in the intervention group (all ps < .05) but not in the control group (all ps >.05). More significantly, there was a significant increase of the urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (ng/ml) (p .05).

Conclusions: The findings of this proposed study provided an insight to the mechanism by which physical activity impacts on sleep in children with ASD, which may ultimately lead to the design of an effective intervention to improve the sleep quality of children with ASD. Copyright © 2019 INSAR.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - May 2019
Event2019 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) - Montreal, Canada
Duration: 01 May 201904 May 2019
https://www.autism-insar.org/page/MeetingArchives

Conference

Conference2019 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)
Abbreviated titleINSAR 2019
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period01/05/1904/05/19
Internet address

Citation

Tse, A. C. Y., Lee, P. H., Zhang, J., & Lai, E. W. H. (2019, May). Examining the impact of physical activity on sleep quality in children with autism through melatonin-mediated model: A RCT. Poster presented at 2019 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR 2019), Montreal, Canada.

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