Sleep intraindividual variability and fatigue in parents of children on the autism spectrum
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Fatigue is associated with numerous harmful physical and mental health outcomes. Despite the established relationship between sleep and fatigue, research on the association between the variability of sleep measures within a person (i.e., intraindividual variability; IIV) and fatigue is limited. Additionally, the role of child sleep in the relationship between parent sleep and fatigue has yet to be explicitly explored, which may be particularly relevant for families with children on the autism spectrum who have an increased likelihood of sleep disturbances. The current study used two weeks of objective sleep (actigraphy) and subjective fatigue data from 81 parents and their children to examine the associations between IIV of parent sleep variables and parent average daily fatigue, as mediated by IIV of child sleep variables. Sleep IIV was estimated using a validated Bayesian model. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that greater parent total sleep time IIV was significantly associated with higher levels of parent average daily fatigue. The IIV of child sleep variables did not significantly mediate the relationship between parent total sleep time IIV and average daily fatigue. Findings provide support for the idea that total sleep time IIV may be a unique aspect of sleep's association with fatigue and that IIV of objective sleep parameters should be examined in addition to average levels.
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M.A.