Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2006 Sep;32(5):585-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2006.00616.x.

Randomized controlled trial of melatonin for children with autistic spectrum disorders and sleep problems

J Garstang  1 , M Wallis
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomized controlled trial of melatonin for children with autistic spectrum disorders and sleep problems

J Garstang et al. Child Care Health Dev. 2006 Sep.

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types