Sleep

Sleep difficulties

Sleep Difficulties are often reported in Angelman syndrome.

• Research studies have estimated that between 20-80% of children with Angelman syndrome have difficulties with sleep, with the most problems occurring between two and six years of age. Clearly there is a huge difference in estimates across research studies and this most likely reflects the different ways researchers have collected information.
• Sleep problems consistently reported in the literature include difficulties with falling asleep, reduced time asleep, waking up during the night. Additional reported sleep difficulties include sleep disordered breathing (including snoring), sleep terrors, bed wetting (enuresis), teeth grinding (bruxism) and sleepwalking (somnambulism).
• Research has suggested that sleep difficulties in Angelman syndrome do not vary across different genetic subtypes. Furthermore, epilepsy and gender have also not been linked to sleep problems in Angelman syndrome.
• Sleep difficulties have not been found to affect daytime behaviour. There are mixed findings of the impact of sleep difficulties on daytime alertness and drowsiness.
• While many parents of children with rare genetic syndromes reports stress, parents whose children sleep less are more likely to experience higher stress and lower levels of well-being.
• While research hasn’t found a clear link between sleep problems and age, some believe that sleep issues may get better as people with Angelman syndrome get older.
• Sleep Interventions
  • There is limited evidence exploring whether behavioural interventions for sleep are effective in Angelman syndrome. However, behavioural interventions in children with intellectual disability without Angelman syndrome have shown success for a range of sleep difficulties, including sleep onset and total sleep time.
  • Only a small number of research studies have examined behavioural interventions in Angelman syndrome. Overall, these studies provide preliminary evidence that behavioural interventions may be effective.  To read the details about these studies click here.
  • Melatonin is a medication that is sometimes prescribed for sleep and has shown to be useful for some individuals with intellectual disability. The effectiveness and appropriate dosage of melatonin can vary, and it should be used under medical supervision.

In this video Tracy describes the sleep difficulties her daughter with Angelman syndrome experiences:

• Further Information:
  • For more information on sleep in children with intellectual disability, and what can be done to reduce or improve sleep problems, click here to read Cerebra’s guide.
  • If you want help and advice on sleep issues in Angelman syndrome, click here.