Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sleep more than their peers on average but experience more sleep disturbances that are associated with behavioral difficulties, lower health-related quality of life, and greater maternal depression, according to a study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.Why It’s Relevant
Poor sleep is common among children with ASD, and the consequences of poor sleep on behavioral symptoms—including hyperactivity, irritability, impulsivity, and aggression—have been well-documented. Still, the impact of poor sleep on broader child and family outcomes such as overall functioning or caregiver burnout has been less studied.
By the Numbers
- The study involved 182 children ages 6 to 12 with ASD (64% male, 73% with co-occurring intellectual disabilities) and their biological mothers in Türkiye, as well as 81 age-matched controls without ASD.
- Though the children with ASD slept longer than the control children, they had significantly greater sleep disturbances, including bedtime resistance, night wakings, and parasomnias.
- Greater sleep disturbance severity was associated with higher levels of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer-relationship difficulties.
- Poorer sleep quality in the children was also associated with greater maternal depression and burnout.
- Greater behavioral difficulties, sleep disturbance severity, and maternal burnout were all independently associated with lower health-related quality of life among the children with ASD.
The Other Side
This cross-sectional study relied on mothers reporting on both themselves and their children, which may have influenced the strength of the identified associations—for example, mothers with burnout may have been more likely to have rated their child’s behavior as problematic. Further, while 62% of the children with ASD were taking medications (versus none of the children without ASD), the researchers did not have detailed information on medication duration or dose.
Takeaway Message
“The co-occurrence of sleep disturbance with elevated behavioral difficulties in the children and higher depressive symptoms and burnout in their caregivers suggests that sleep problems in ASD should be conceptualized not as an isolated nocturnal symptom cluster but as part of a multidimensional clinical burden embedded within family functioning.”
Related Information
Source
Asiye Arici Gürbüz, et al. The impact of sleep habits on emotional and behavioral problems, quality of life, caregiver depression, and burnout in children with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry. Published online August 4, 2026. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1918823
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