Difficulties achieving sufficient sleep are particularly common in children with behaviour and learning difficulties – affecting up to 70% of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 50% of those with clinical-level ADHD[1].

This brief article considers the evidence that improving nutrition can benefit children’s sleep, and with it, their mood, behaviour, wellbeing and ability to learn:

• Feeding Better Sleep in Children with ADHD and Autism

Learn more about foods that contain additives and preservatives, and their effect on sleep and wellbeing in our article:

• Additives and preservatives and their impact on ADD/ADHD children and adults

Nutritional Supplementation:

Real food is the best source of all nutrients whenever possible.  Unfortunately, food allergies or intolerances, and/or the food preferences of many children with ASD, ADHD and related conditions can make it difficult for them to obtain adequate intakes of all essential nutrients from diet alone. If so, good quality supplements can help to provide these, increasing the chances of achieving better sleep, as well as better health and wellbeing.  The following supplements may be of benefit to sleep issues:

Both omega-3 and vitamin D regulate production of serotonin – needed to make melatonin. Preliminary clinical trial evidence does suggest sleep may be improved by supplementation with:

• Vitamin D  [7]
• Omega-3 [8]

• Magnesium – systematic reviews confirm that low intakes and status relate to sleep problems, but clinical trial evidence that supplementation with magnesium alone improves sleep is limited.[10]

• Zinc – low levels are linked with child sleep problems, especially in adolescence, [11] consistent with other evidence zinc helps modulate sleep.[12]

• Iron – lack of iron is well known to impair sleep problems. Low iron is particularly linked with ‘restless legs syndrome’ or periodic limb movements, both common in children with ADHD and related conditions; and clinical trials show iron supplementation can significantly reduce these kinds of sleep disturbances in children with or without ADHD[13]

Mindfulness can offer several benefits for sleep in individuals with autism and ADHD:

• Reduced Anxiety
• Enhanced Relaxation Response:
• Stress Reduction
• Better Sleep Hygiene

Learn more about these benefits in our blog article:

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Understand how breathing techniques can help significantly calm the body enabling better sleep:

• The benefits of breathing techniques for people with neurodiverse conditions

Gain an understanding about how previous trauma can affect your own or your child’s sleep patterns, and how to overcome these events to aid restful sleep:

• Trauma, ASD, and ADHD

Clinical reflexology can be helpful for improving sleep and managing sleep-related issues.  It can induce a deep state of relaxation helping to reduce stress and anxiety, which are common causes of sleep distrubances.   When the body is in a more relaxed state, it becomes easier to fall asleep and stay asleep for longer periods.  Find out more in our blog article:

• What is clinical reflexology?

References:

1. Al Lihabi A. A literature review of sleep problems and neurodevelopment disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14.
2. Innocenti A, Lentini G, Rapacchietta S, et al. The Role of Supplements and Over-the-Counter Products to Improve Sleep in Children: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(9).
3. France KG, McLay LK, Hunter JE, France MLS. Empirical research evaluating the effects of non-traditional approaches to enhancing sleep in typical and clinical children and young people. Sleep Med Rev. 2018;39:69-81.
4. Pelsser LM, Frankena K, Buitelaar JK, Rommelse NN. Effects of food on physical and sleep complaints in children with ADHD: A randomised controlled pilot study. Eur J Pediatr. 2010;169:1129-1138.
5. Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial food colors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms: conclusions to dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012;9(3):599-609.
6. Rowe KS, Rowe KJ. Synthetic food coloring and behavior: a dose response effect in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures study. J Pediatr. 1994;125(5 Pt 1):691-8.
7. Abboud M. Vitamin D Supplementation and Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies. Nutrients. 2022;14(5).
8. Dai Y, Liu J. Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid and sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and longitudinal studies. Nutr Rev. 2021;79(8):847-868.
9. Ji X, Grandner MA, Liu J. The relationship between micronutrient status and sleep patterns: a systematic review. Public Health Nutr. 2017;20(4):687-701. doi:10.1017/S1368980016002603
10. Arab A, Rafie N, Amani R, Shirani F. The Role of Magnesium in Sleep Health: a Systematic Review of Available Literature. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2023;201(1):121-128.
11. Ji X, Liu J. Associations between Blood Zinc Concentrations and Sleep Quality in Childhood: A Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2015;7(7):5684-5696. doi:10.3390/NU7075247
12. Cherasse Y, Urade Y. Dietary zinc acts as a sleep modulator. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(11). doi:10.3390/ijms18112334
13. Leung W, Singh I, McWilliams S, Stockler S, Ipsiroglu OS. Iron deficiency and sleep – a scoping review. Sleep Med Rev. 2020;51:101274. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101274