Are Sleep Issues a Key Feature of Autism?

How vivid dreams and an active brain can stop you from relaxing.

A lovely relaxing sleep in which I dream of burying bodies under my house.

My earliest memory is of being chased by a terrifying monster through a world of spikes. It was a recurring nightmare and it felt as real to me as my daily life.

“You used to sit bolt upright and scream with your eyes wide open,” my mum tells me. “It was like the Exorcist!”

I still remember the horror. Tall, thin splinters of metal all around and the monster gaining with every step. I woke screaming, drawing the comfort of my parents and then fell back to sleep, only to meet the monster again.

Sleep has never come easily to me. Nor has it always been very relaxing. I find it hard to stay awake in the day and then when I finally get to bed I struggle to fall asleep. Do you relate?

New research suggests that issues around sleep could be a core feature for those of us on the spectrum. “Over 70% of autistic adults said they experienced difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, associating this with sensory issues and high anxiety. around half were unable to stay asleep for long, whilst 4 in 10 experienced nightmares.” - Autism.org.uk

This certainly matches with my experience. After I quit drinking, my insomnia improved, but I still had issues with sleep. I tried exercising more, eating earlier, taking supplements, sleeping tablets: nothing fixed it. I just don’t seem to be able to switch my brain off very easily.

Five years sober, I get to sleep more quickly and I have fewer night terrors than I used to, but my sleep is still interrupted. I have disturbing and vivid dreams that shake me emotionally and that I have to work hard to shift. I wake frequently, sometimes in a strangely untethered psychological state.

It seems obvious that this chronic sleep deficit contributes to my issues with memory and executive functioning. But so far, this is one of the least studied areas of autism. Does autism cause insomnia or does insomnia exacerbate autistic traits?

If you struggle to sleep then you are already no doubt an expert on sleep hygiene. Turn the blue light off your phone in the evenings, avoid caffeine after 3 pm, keep your bedroom cool and quiet and dark…

I do all of this, but still, I wake after 20 minutes. Often with the kind of jump, you’d expect if my partner had let rip with an indoor firework display.

“You're ok,” he says to me, seeing my frightened and dazed expression.

Sometimes I literally jump out of the bed. The horror of a nightmare chasing me. Before I got sober, I did this a lot.

Not being able to sleep is exhausting and I am yet to find a workable solution. The only reasonable adjustment I have deciphered is to allow myself to rest as much as possible, even if it is the middle of the day.

We need to sleep to heal, and form memories, as well as rest, so if you find yourself with another bout of insomnia, be gentle with yourself. Don't beat yourself up if you have a nap before lunchtime. You have a serious sleep deficit and you need the downtime!

Take your sleep where you can get it. Resist guilt if a power nap turns into a two-hour deep slumber. Praise yourself for everything you have accomplished in spite of sleeping less than Margaret Thatcher.

I’m sorry I haven’t any better tips. If they turn up, I’ll share them!

I've recently been in touch with my GP about trying melatonin - so maybe that will work. Now I have a diagnosis I am eligible to have this prescribed. However, it's not a long-term solution. Apparently, it is only prescribed for short-term use. So it's just me, sleep hygiene and as many naps as I can sneak into my days.

Have you found any other techniques for beating insomnia? Does melatonin work for you? Are you a frequent napper too? Share your experience in the comments. <3

If you appreciate my work, and believe writers should get paid, consider signing up for a paid subscription. Early adopters get a discount.

If you can’t afford to pay, but want to help because you have grown to love me (oh my god I love you too!) then share this with friends who might appreciate it.

Polite Robot News

I’ve joined the steering committee of Sabaa, a funded project looking at the overlap between autism and addiction. The project aims to identify research gaps and priorities as well as to provide guidance for future work, and I am delighted to bring together my dual special interests of autism and addiction. If you want to get involved, get in touch and I can help.

I’m also starting an autistic agony aunt column and I need your most pressing questions. I promise to keep your identity anonymous and to find answers from the most informed professionals if I have no idea what to recommend. Relationship, family, work, whatever you are struggling with, just hit reply! I will do my utmost to help you with wise and nurturing advice.

As a bonus for paid subscribers, I am serializing the first chapters of my new novel, When the Earth Could Breathe, every Wednesday. It’s a science-fiction survival story featuring autistic sibling protagonists, ancient yew trees and time travel. I hope you will enjoy reading it as I write. And please let me know what you think in the comments!

Read

Enough ‘autism awareness’. The necessity now is action by John Harris in the Guardian

Challenging read

What is autism? How the term became too broad to have meaning any more by Tom Clements

Listen

Poor sleep could be core feature of autism, related conditions in Spectrum

Watch

The Reason I Jump the film releases in the UK on 18 June

---

You can connect with the Autism community on Twitter. If you have a question, use #ActuallyAutistic or #AskingAutistics (or both). You can also visit The Autism Self Advocacy Network and the Autistic Not Weird Facebook page and website.