Comparing the effectiveness of physical exercise intervention and melatonin supplement in improving sleep quality in children with ASD
Comparing the effectiveness of physical exercise intervention and melatonin supplement in improving sleep quality in children with ASD
Purpose: previous studies have demonstrated that physical exercise can modulate the endogenous melatonin level in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and improve their sleep quality. However, it remains unclear whether physical exercise or melatonin supplement, or a combination of both, is more effective in improving sleep quality in this population. The purpose of this study is to answer this research question by comparing the effectiveness of three types of interventions (physical exercise vs. melatonin supplement or a combination of both) in improving sleep quality in children with ASD.
Methods: sixty-two (62) children diagnosed with ASD were randomly assigned to one of four groups: cycling (n = 18), melatonin supplement (n = 14), a combination of both (n = 12), and placebo control group (n = 18). Four (4) sleep parameters (sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, sleep duration, and wake after sleep onset) were assessed.
Results: the results revealed a significant improvement in sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and sleep duration in all of the interventions, but not in the placebo control group. However, no significant group differences were found among the interventions (ps >.05).
Conclusion: our findings suggest similar effectiveness of physical exercise and melatonin supplementation in improving sleep quality in children with ASD.
Autism, Children, Melatonin Supplement, Physical Exercise, Sleep
Tse, Andy C.Y.
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Lee, Paul H.
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Sit, Cindy H.P.
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Poon, Eric Tsz-chun
4b3dc088-6764-412e-8179-e3a2779da8db
Sun, F.
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Pang, Chi Ling
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Cheng, James C.H.
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Tse, Andy C.Y.
e0d6b2be-a736-43ac-b03e-d2d58a56e114
Lee, Paul H.
02620eab-ae7f-4a1c-bad1-8a50e7e48951
Sit, Cindy H.P.
a6152ded-c122-40fc-97e2-06533ad49a6e
Poon, Eric Tsz-chun
4b3dc088-6764-412e-8179-e3a2779da8db
Sun, F.
3e9302c6-baa5-4c32-836e-c29ebdaf0d1d
Pang, Chi Ling
a672cdfb-adc7-4e34-bdb6-de95f9f0c769
Cheng, James C.H.
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Tse, Andy C.Y., Lee, Paul H., Sit, Cindy H.P., Poon, Eric Tsz-chun, Sun, F., Pang, Chi Ling and Cheng, James C.H.
(2023)
Comparing the effectiveness of physical exercise intervention and melatonin supplement in improving sleep quality in children with ASD.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
(doi:10.1007/s10803-023-06172-7).
Abstract
Purpose: previous studies have demonstrated that physical exercise can modulate the endogenous melatonin level in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and improve their sleep quality. However, it remains unclear whether physical exercise or melatonin supplement, or a combination of both, is more effective in improving sleep quality in this population. The purpose of this study is to answer this research question by comparing the effectiveness of three types of interventions (physical exercise vs. melatonin supplement or a combination of both) in improving sleep quality in children with ASD.
Methods: sixty-two (62) children diagnosed with ASD were randomly assigned to one of four groups: cycling (n = 18), melatonin supplement (n = 14), a combination of both (n = 12), and placebo control group (n = 18). Four (4) sleep parameters (sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, sleep duration, and wake after sleep onset) were assessed.
Results: the results revealed a significant improvement in sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and sleep duration in all of the interventions, but not in the placebo control group. However, no significant group differences were found among the interventions (ps >.05).
Conclusion: our findings suggest similar effectiveness of physical exercise and melatonin supplementation in improving sleep quality in children with ASD.
Text
JADD-D-23-00551_R4
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Accepted/In Press date: 26 October 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 November 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information: the work described in this paper was partially supported by the General Research Fund the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 18616522).
Keywords:
Autism, Children, Melatonin Supplement, Physical Exercise, Sleep
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485101
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485101
ISSN: 0162-3257
PURE UUID: be1b99a4-e0d0-4195-81c0-2a457de271bb
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Date deposited: 29 Nov 2023 17:38
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:09
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Contributors
Author:
Andy C.Y. Tse
Author:
Paul H. Lee
Author:
Cindy H.P. Sit
Author:
Eric Tsz-chun Poon
Author:
F. Sun
Author:
Chi Ling Pang
Author:
James C.H. Cheng
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