One of the problems parents have to deal with when it comes to their children who have the autism disorder is the insomnia they often suffer from. Autistic children—and, in turn, their parents—have to deal with a lot. For instance, children with autism often suffer from diarrhea or loose bowels. Children from autism are often easily agitated due to their over sensitive to a number of things. And then there’s insomnia. Although not all autistic children suffer from this, a significant number of autistic individuals do have a hard time trying to fall asleep. Of course, as with any healthy person, insomnia always poses as a problem. Lack of sleep can cause a lot of complications. This is true more so with children with autism.
Now, there are many suggested ways to deal with insomnia among children with autism. For one, many are encouraged to give their children weighted blankets to add some weight to the usual fabric. The pressure provided by the addition weight can actually calm an individual, allowing him or her to easily relax and, consequently, sleep. Ideally, the weight to be added should 10 percent of the person’s total body weight. Another trick: white noise. White noise is a sound that contains equal frequencies. It is a monotonous stream of peaceful sound that can help distract the child of any other sound beyond the white noise (this is especially helpful for people with over sensitive hearing). Lastly, the most obvious step? Heavy activities during the day. This way, the child can easily be induced to sleep since it allows him to calm down at night’s time (since all the energy is spent during the day).
But there is another step: the intake of melatonin. Although the intake of this substance may not seem to be the natural, it is the most preferred since it helps facilitate proper sleeping habits internally rather than external (as with the use of weighted blankets or white noise). But how can melatonin help, exactly? And how come the substance is specific?
Melatonin is a form of antioxidant, a substance many say is stronger than Vitamin C or E. it is produced by the melatonin receptors in the body, although it can also be acquired from numerous food substances and supplements. Melatonin has long been used as a means to treat sleeping disorders—and not just for individuals with autism. However, in case of use for autistic individuals, the effectiveness is more pronounced. Why?
Simple: because as studies have proven, individuals with autism have low antioxidant count in their body. Antioxidants play an important role in the protection of the body against harmful free radicals and chemicals produced by taking in certain food substances. In any case, a significant number of children with autism have low counts of melatonin. Although that may not necessarily be the cause of insomnia among autism patients, it is perhaps one of the triggering reasons why autistic children find it harder to cope with sleeping problems.
The fact of low levels of melatonin in an autistic child’s body doesn’t necessarily mean that this occurrence is unique. However, since it has bee proven that melatonin can help people with sleeping disorder, this strong antioxidant should prove to be helpful regardless. A melatonin therapy is a good way of solving the sleeping problems of children with this brain development disorder.
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