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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Randomized controlled trial of melatonin for children with autistic spectrum disorders and sleep problems
1Coventry Primary Care Trust, Coventry, UK.
Insights
Melatonin significantly improved sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by reducing sleep latency and nighttime awakenings. This study provides evidence for melatonin
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Background:
- Sleep disturbances are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Melatonin is frequently used off-label for pediatric sleep issues, but evidence in ASD is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of melatonin in improving sleep parameters in children with ASD.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial was conducted.
- The study involved 11 children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
Main Results:
- Melatonin significantly reduced sleep latency (1.06 h vs. 1.91 h placebo, 2.6 h baseline).
- It decreased nighttime wakings (0.08/night vs. 0.26/night placebo, 0.35/night baseline).
- Total sleep duration increased with melatonin (9.84 h vs. 8.75 h placebo, 8.05 h baseline).
Conclusions:
- Despite a small sample size due to recruitment challenges, melatonin demonstrated effectiveness in improving sleep in children with ASD.
- The findings suggest melatonin is a viable treatment for sleep difficulties in this population, warranting further investigation in larger trials.
Background:
Melatonin is often used for autistic children with sleep disorders, despite a lack of published evidence in this population.
Methods:
A randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind crossover trial of melatonin was undertaken in 11 children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
Results:
Seven children completed the trial. Sleep latency was 2.6 h [95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.28-2.93] baseline, 1.91 h (95% CI 1.78-2.03) with placebo and 1.06 h (95% CI 0.98-1.13) with melatonin. Wakings per night were 0.35 (95% CI 0.18-0.53) baseline, 0.26 (95% CI 0.20-0.34) with placebo and 0.08 (95% CI 0.04-0.12) with melatonin. Total sleep duration was 8.05 h (95% CI 7.65-8.44) baseline, 8.75 h (95% CI 8.56-8.98) with placebo and 9.84 h (95% CI 9.68-9.99) with melatonin.
Conclusions:
Although the study was small owing to recruitment difficulties, it still provides evidence of effectiveness of melatonin in children with sleep difficulties and ASD, which we predict a larger study would confirm.
