Oct. 12, 2009 (Baltimore) -- Low doses of melatonin may help children with autism get a better night's rest, researchers report.

Eleven youngsters with autism ages 4 to 10 fell asleep more quickly and slept longer when given low-dose supplements of melatonin, says Beth Malow, MD, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

The supplements didn't appear to cause any side effects, suggesting parents can continue to give them to their kids as long as needed, she tells WebMD.

Studies have shown that as many as 70% of children with autism suffer from sleep problems, according to Andrew Zimmerman, MD, of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, who specializes in treating autism.

Other research points to a deficiency of melatonin -- the body's natural sleep hormone -- as the culprit, Malow says. Secreted at night by the pineal gland in the brain, melatonin is thought to control sleep cycles, which are frequently disturbed in the elderly -- and kids with autism, she says.