Melatonin and Autism Ranking:

Future Research

Summary of Existing Research

- Individual studies

• There is some research which suggests that melatonin regulation may be impaired in some autistic individuals. However the relationship between sleep problems and melatonin processing in autistic people is complex and poorly understood.
• There is a small amount of high quality research (seven controlled trials) and a small amount of low quality research (seven single case designs with three or more participants) into the use of melatonin as an intervention for autistic people.
• This research suggests that melatonin may be helpful in improving some sleep problems in some autistic children and young people.
• There isn’t enough high quality research to determine if melatonin is helpful in improving sleep problems in autistic adults. 
• There isn’t enough high quality research to determine if melatonin provides any other benefits to autistic people.

- Research reviews

There have been a number of research reviews into the use of melatonin as a treatment for autistic people.  Generally, these agree with our conclusions that there is some evidence for the benefits of melatonin, although they vary in their valuation of the quality of that evidence. For example

• Guénolé F. et al. (2011) noted “As a whole, we found that the literature supports the existence of a beneficial effect of melatonin on sleep in individuals with ASD, with only few and minor side effects. However, considering the small number of studies and their methodological limits, these conclusions cannot yet be regarded as evidence-based. Randomized controlled trials and long-term follow-up data are still lacking to better assess efficacy and safety of exogenous melatonin for disordered sleep in individuals with ASD.
• Rossignol et al (2011) noted “Melatonin administration in ASD is associated with improved sleep parameters, better daytime behavior, and minimal side effects. Additional studies of melatonin would be helpful to confirm and expand on these findings.”

Recommendations for Future Research

There is a need for more research into the relationship between sleep problems and melatonin processing in autistic people.

There is also a need for more research into the use of melatonin as an intervention for autistic people.  That research should

• Use more scientifically robust, experimental methodologies with a wider range of participants. 
• Provide more details about the participants, such as whether they had a formal diagnosis of autism, intellectual ability etc.
• Investigate if specific autistic individuals (such as those with circadian rhythm problems) might benefit most from the use of melatonin. 
• Identify the optimal formulations, dosages and lengths of treatment for different autistic individuals and for specific sleep problems.
• Compare melatonin with other interventions which are designed to achieve similar results, such as tranquillisers.
• Determine if melatonin can be used as one of the elements within comprehensive, multi-component, treatment models for sleep problems.
• Make use of a wider range of standardised measurement tools including actigraphic devices, sleep diaries, quality of life measures etc.
• Involve autistic people in the design, development and evaluation of those studies.

Updated

16 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Nov 2017

Next Review

01 Apr 2024