Apnea del sueño y autismo

Many people take getting a good night’s sleep for granted. They may be able to fall asleep relatively easily, stay asleep for most of the night and feel rested when they awake in the morning.

There are many people, though, who just aren’t able to get a consistently good night’s sleep. This could be due to insomnia, sleep apnea or other sleep issues.

People who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly struggle with sleep issues. In fact, multiple studies have suggested that more than half of all children with autism suffer from at least one chronic sleep problem.

Learn more about the link between autism and sleeping issues

One of the most serious sleep problems that children with autism face is sleep apnea. Children who have this can stop breathing at times during the night and snore loudly, and sometimes, their heart can even stop multiple times for a moment while they sleep.

Below, we’ll discuss the connection between sleep apnea and autism.

Índice

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that can be potentially very serious. It’s generally characterized by breathing that stops and then starts again repeatedly throughout the night.

Some of the common signs that a person might have sleep apnea is if they snore loudly when they sleep and if they feel tired every morning, even if they had a full night’s sleep.

There are three different types of sleep apnea, each of which has a different cause.

Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is the most common type. It happens when the muscles in the throw relax, which then blocks how air normally flows into lungs.

The second type is called central sleep apnea, or CSA. It happens when a person’s brain isn’t sending the right signals to the body’s muscles that are responsible for controlling breathing.

Complex sleep apnea, which is referred to as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, occurs when a person has OSA that eventually changes over to CSA after they receive therapy for their OSA.

Sleep apnea is diagnosed through a sleep study, in which a professional monitors the patient as they sleep in a controlled environment. The person is hooked up to various sensors that help determine the patient’s heart rate and breathing throughout the night.

Why is Sleep Apnea a Problem?

Sleep apnea is considered to be a very serious medical issue. There are some potentially significant complications that can occur to people who have it.

This includes fatigue during the day, heart problems and/or high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver problems, metabolic syndrome and other cardiovascular problems.

People who have sleep apnea often receive treatment through a CPAP machine, which is known as a continuous positive airway pressure machine. It is a head-set like device with a mask that fits over the person’s nose, mouth or both, and forces air into the body continuously so that the airwaves remain open.

What is the Link Between Sleep Apnea and Autism?

Many studies have revealed that children who have autism are more at risk of having obstructive sleep apnea than their neurotypical peers.

UNA 2022 study, for example, found that it was “significantly more common” for children with ASD to have symptoms of OSA. According to the study, some of the most common symptoms of OSA in children on the autism spectrum were excessive sleepiness during the day, changes in their cognitive function and loud snoring.

Unfortunately, some symptoms of OSA also overlap and, therefore, exacerbate a child’s ASD symptoms. This can result in the OSA diagnosis being delayed for children who suffer from both conditions.

In addition to sleep apnea, children with autism may struggle with other things that are causing additional sleep issues. This could include hyper- or hyposensitivity to various sensory stimuli, hyperactivity or hyperarousal, a disturbance in the typical cycle of circadian rhythm and more.

Children with ASD who suffer from sleep apnea and other sleep-related issues are often treated the same way that their neurotypical peers are. For sleep apnea specifically, this might include a CPAP machine.

It’s also important for parents to help children with autism establish a good nighttime routine, create a good sleep environment free from distractions and practice other “sleep hygiene” steps.

Blue Gems ABA Can Help Children with Autism Who Have Sleep Issues

Children on the autism spectrum commonly struggle with sleep issues, including sleep apnea. Many traditional treatment methods also apply to children with ASD, though specialized applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) can also help tremendously.

En Blue Gems ABA, we have a team of BCBAs who administers ABA therapy on a one-to-one basis with children who have autism. This science- and evidence-based approach to learning helps children build their social and communication skills, while also learning how to modify their behaviors in response to many of the things that may be causing their sleep issues.

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