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How Autism is linked to Insufficient Deep Sleep.

Most authors think that autism comes with sleep issues. I disagree, I think that autism is caused by the sleep disorder.

If the sleep disorder can be fixed that means the autistic features can be fixed! Learn about why it’s likely that your child appears to be asleep but is not sleeping normally. Then learn about RightSleep and how fix your child’s sleep issues.

Sleep is of two types: “light sleep”, and “deep sleep”. During the two phases of deep sleep we are paralyzed. Deep sleep can be either Slow Wave Sleep, (the brain waves are in a slow rhythm), or Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. The “work” of sleep is done only in Deep Sleep!

We know that growth hormone is only secreted during slow wave sleep. This means that children only grow during that specific phase of sleep. If they don’t stay in slow wave sleep long enough they don’t grow normally. So growing is not just about having the right hormone, it’s also about spending enough time in the proper phase of sleep every night.

Children also develop their brain while they sleep. If there’s not enough time spent in deep sleep the brain must decide what to put off until tomorrow night. If the deep sleep is shorter than normal, night after night, then some parts of normal brain development just don’t happen.

Based on the astounding increase in autism that has occurred in the last 20 years, it looks as though when sleep is shortened the brain leaves off normal social interaction. Autism refers to social awkwardness, an inability to recognize social cues and interactions that are very important for normal humans. Humans, like all primates, are pack animals. We survive best in groups and we have specific behaviors that help us succeed or fail in a group. We can probably still survive without those skills but our ability to mate or interact in community will be limited without them.

We have seen a significant rise in the incidence of autism during the same years that sleep disorders have become epidemic in children. Most authors think that the sleep disorder comes from autism, I think the sleep disorder causes the autism. That means we can fix it! There is quite a bit of literature linking vitamin D deficiency to autism. Based on my patient experience the brain still remembers what it is supposed to do, we just need to give it the time in deep sleep to get it done.  Given back enough time in deep sleep and the necessary raw materials, (D and B vitamins) the brain can make up for the deep sleep that it missed and develop normal social skills even into the teens and early 20’s.

“Not a Morning Person” is a sleep disorder !

Most children with milder sleep disorders just have a hard time getting out of bed.  That inability to wake up means the brain has really not finished what it needs to do. The brain wanted to sleep until 10:00 am to finish last night’s tasks. Children who can’t fall asleep or stay asleep have very severe sleep disorders and inevitably develop either physical or psychological illness due to this lack of normal time spent in sleep. Normal children (2-9 years old) with normal vitamin D levels, fall asleep easily at 8:00 pm and wake up at 6:00am happy and ready to go! If that is not your child there is something else you can do that can improve their life and your life. Normal teens fall asleep at 9-10 pm and wake up easily at 6:00 am.

Bed-wetting is a sleep disorder.

Bed-wetting means that a child is not spending enough time in deep sleep. Anti-diuretic hormone, a hormone that limits our urine production during sleep, (so we don’t have to get up and interrupt our repair) is only released during deep sleep. Children who cannot get into or stay in deep sleep make too much urine and wet the bed. They have a combined vitamin D and intestinal microbiome problem that affects their B vitamin production.

Anxiety and Depression are related to Sleep:

Anxiety and depression are both common in children now. Both sleep issues and emotional issues have increased dramatically in children over the last 40 years. If you can normalize the sleep using the RightSleep method you can slowly make these emotional issues better in your child.

Psychological development is related to sleep:

Over the last 10 years there has been a significant increase in gender dysphoria. This means feeling as though one’s “gender” does not match the sexual organs one was born with. Though babies are born with male or female genitalia the sexual development of the brain is dependent on the release of sex hormones during deep sleep throughout childhood.  Sexualizing the brain to match the genitalia is a nightly, chemical event that is followed by the pubertal physical changes that make us recognizably male or female. My patient experience has shown that teen boys who still have a feminine body shape, once sleeping normally, can transition to a masculine body shape even after significant pubertal delay. So both the social interaction and the body shape are determined by having the right amount of deep sleep during childhood.

Learn how to use RightSleep with your child.


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