Sleep problems
What can help with sleep issues such as insomnia and nighttime awakening?Welcome to our dedicated section for those seeking valuable resources to enhance sleep and improve wellbeing.
Here, you’ll find a wealth of information, including:
Insightful information and therapies
addressing strategies to help improve sleep issues
Diet, Nutrition and Supplements
Therapists
who can offer invaluable one to one advice and support wellbeing
Read through the sections below, and feel free to explore them in any order that suits your preferences and needs. However, we strongly recommend initiating your journey with the diet, nutrition, and supplements advice, as food and diet are the foundation for good mental health and overall wellbeing.
Diet, Nutrition, and Supplements
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
Systematic reviews of clinical trials show good or promising evidence that various specific dietary or nutritional interventions can help reduce child and adolescent sleep problems. [2][3]Importantly, some of these – such as ketogenic or elimination (few foods) diets – only benefit particular subgroups, and also require professional help to implement them safely and effectively. Nonetheless, longstanding and substantive evidence shows that well-designed elimination diets can help many children with ADHD-type difficulties, and improvements in sleep are among the reported benefits [4]
There is also solid clinical trial evidence shows that elimination of artificial food colourings alone can reduce ADHD symptoms in both clinical and general populations;[5]and adverse reactions to these non-essential additives include irritability, restlessness and sleep disturbance.[6]
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:
Many vitamins and minerals have been studied in relation to sleep problems,[9] but magnesium, zinc and iron stand out – and low dietary intakes and/or tissue levels are commonly reported in ASD, ADHD and related conditions.
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]
Please note that many vitamins and minerals often have multiple synergistic interactions with other nutrients. Therefore, unless under the guideance of a therapist, rather than giving individual supplements, a more effective approach may involve broad-spectrum micronutrient supplementation which has already shown promise in the management of both ADHD and ASD symptoms. Before starting on any supplementation we highly recommend you book an appointment with a registered nutritionist or dietitian:
Additionally, view our list of supplements that may support sleep issues:
All clincial paper references are detailed in our ‘reference section’ at the end of this article.
Shop supplements
Get help from a nutritionist
Articles that may interest you:
Therapies
Mindfulness
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
Trauma Therapy
There are many similar observable behaviours attributed to ASD, ADHD and trauma/anxiety in children and young people. The ‘naughty’ child in school that has been identified by staff as needing support may fulfil all the diagnostic criteria for ADHD when looking at the bigger picture could highlight a link between the child’s behaviour and possible trauma (Mendel, 2023). Research has shown that child traumatic stress can be mistaken for ADHD or ASD due to the overlap of symptoms between ADHD and ASD and the effects of experiencing trauma (Ruiz, 2014).
There has been growing recognition of the relationship between trauma and ADHD/ASD (Daud and Rydelius, 2009) as cognitive and emotional difficulties occur with both. Children that have experienced trauma or ACE’s can present with a wide range of developmental issues, anger control and behaviour problems, anxiety, depression, and additional learning needs. There are multiple studies showing the inextricable link between ASD, ADHD and trauma, with trauma worsening ADHD symptoms and ADHD complicating the effects of trauma (CHADD, 2023). Typical responses to trauma in children of numbing of emotions, avoidance and disengagement may exaggerate problems linked to ADHD when functioning at home and in school (Szymanski et al 2011).
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:
Clinical Reflexology
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:
References
- Al Lihabi A. A literature review of sleep problems and neurodevelopment disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial food colors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms: conclusions to dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012;9(3):599-609.
- 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.
- Abboud M. Vitamin D Supplementation and Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies. Nutrients. 2022;14(5).
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- Cherasse Y, Urade Y. Dietary zinc acts as a sleep modulator. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(11). doi:10.3390/ijms18112334
- 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
Important – This information is for insight and educational purposes. Identifying with any symptoms or experiences mentioned should not be taken as a substitute for a formal or clinical diagnosis of these complex conditions, nor the specific support required to support a particular individual. Please talk to a qualified health professional or GP for specific support. If you are thinking about ending your life, please call 999 (UK) or go to A&E and ask for the contact of the nearest crisis resolution team.