Effect of Daily Physical Activity on Sleep Characteristics in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

. Sleep problems have been reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One of the methods proposed to improve sleep characteristics is based on physical activity (PA). . To assess characteristics of sleep and the effect of PA level on sleep quality in children with ASD compared to controls. . Fifty boys with ASD (ASD; 10.8 ± 2.6 years) and 18 controls (CONT, 10.1 ± 2.2 years) wore an accelerometer device for five consecutive days to obtain measures of activity and sleep characteristics. . Some significant differences were reported between ASD and CONT groups. Wake-up time resistance was significantly higher ( < 0.05) in ASD. Total time for PA, and daily steps number were significantly lower in the ASD group ( < 0.05). Time for sedentary behavior was significantly higher ( < 0.01) in the ASD group. Using a principal component analysis and an agglomerative hierarchical analysis, we observed three clusters. Two showed the same poor-quality indices of sleep but two opposing profiles of PA, either an insufficient PA volume (cluster 1, Total time PA = 75.1 min; Daily steps: 7704) or an important PA volume (cluster 3, Total time PA = 222.1 min; Daily steps: 17,164). Cluster 2 was characterized by moderate participation in PA and children with the best sleep indices (Total time PA = 166.8 min; Daily steps: 12,718). . The dose-response effect of exercise on sleep may indicate large individual differences but the present findings are important to prevent sedentary behaviors or to correct over-activity that could be detrimental to the sleep quality in children with ASD.