Autism-related sleep issues go hand in hand with behavior problems

19 February 2016

Autism Speaks came out with this article recently. Wow, is this news to anyone? Lack of sleep in our children with autism lead to increased behavioral problems. Raise your hand if you could write a thesis on this. Many of us know all too well the issue that come from lack of sleep, in both our children and ourselves! The real issue is what to do about it! They do acknowledge that working with your physician to address underlying issues but what does that mean?

There are many things parents and caregivers can do to support healthy sleep. Melatonin is a supplement that can be used to help regulate the sleep cycle. Supporting methylation has also been a helpful thing parents report. Parents have often described that they child starts sleeping better when they start a B12 supplement like our Methyl-Mate. Supporting optimal gut health can also be supportive of optimal sleep. Gut pathogens have a way of interfering with sleep, especially on or around the full moon. Gut dysbiosis can be treated with a variety of products, the first step is working with your physician to determine what pathogens you are dealing with. The Organic Acids Test (OAT) from The Great Plains Laboratory is a great start and then from there you can determine which pathogens are problematic and design a treatment protocol around that. 

There is a larger and larger body of work and personal experiences that help shed light on issues like underlying biomedical causes of things like sleep disturbances, aggression, difficulty paying attention. And while sleep certainly plays a role in all of those things, the underlying issues themselves do as well. New Beginnings Nutritionals is always here to support your family in their quest for optimal health and functioning!