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.
Meltzer
Lisa J
LJ
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market Street, 14th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. meltzerl@email.chop.edu
D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires