Sleep patterns predictive of daytime challenging behavior in individuals with low-functioning autism.
Simonne CohenBen D FulcherShantha M W RajaratnamRussell ConduitJason P SullivanMelissa A St HilaireAndrew J K PhillipsTobias LoddenkemperSanjeev V KothareKelly McConnellPaula Braga-KenyonWilliam AhearnAndrew ShlesingerJacqueline PotterFrank BirdKim M CornishSteven W LockleyPublished in: Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research (2017)
We analyzed over 20,000 nights of sleep from 67 individuals with autism to investigate whether daytime behaviors can be predicted from prior sleep patterns. Better-than-chance accuracy was obtained for 81% of individuals, with measures of night-to-night variation in sleep timing and duration most relevant for accurate prediction. Our results highlight the importance of regular sleep patterns for better daytime functioning and represent a step toward the development of 'smart sleep technologies' to pre-empt behavior in individuals with autism.