Brief report: sleep in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders

OBJECTIVE: To examine sleep quality and sleep-wake patterns in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and parents of typically developing (TD) children. METHODS: Thirty-five mothers and 22 fathers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a 7-day sleep diary, and wore an actigraph for 1 week. RESULTS: Parents of children with ASDs reported poorer sleep quality compared to the TD group. In addition, parents of children with ASDs had objectively different sleep patterns, with an earlier wake time and shorter total sleep time than parents of TD children. Finally, regardless of group, fathers had significantly shorter sleep time compared to mothers. CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of the first to demonstrate poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep quantity in parents of children with ASDs using validated measures of sleep. Future studies should examine the relationship between chronic sleep loss and stress in parents of children with ASDs.