ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to experience sleep problems, which can affect quality of life, physical health, mental health and well-being. METHODS: An integrative literature review was conducted to investigate what is known about behavioural sleep disturbances in people with an intellectual disability. The search used the following databases: Scopus, PsycInfo and Cinahl, to find papers published since 2015. RESULTS: Within intellectual disability research, sleep appears as a common issue due to its high prevalence, negative relationships with an individual's physical and mental health, their quality of life, and impact of sleep problems on family or carers. The growing evidence base appears to support the use of behavioural, lifestyle and pharmacological interventions to improve sleep in people with an intellectual disability. CONCLUSION: A wide array of literature provides evidence that people with intellectual disabilities are affected by and need support with their sleep.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability , Problem Behavior , Sleep Wake Disorders , Humans , Child , Adult , Intellectual Disability/epidemiology , Quality of Life , Mental Health , Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to experience sleep problems. Sleep can impact on health and well-being; therefore, evidence-based interventions are required to improve sleep in this population. METHOD: An integrative literature review was conducted on the impact of nutrition on sleep in people with intellectual disabilities. Following screening of papers (n = 289), 14 papers met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Themes related to nutrition and improved overall well-being, use of nutritional supplements, specific foods, links to health comorbidities and food fussiness. CONCLUSION: This is the first comprehensive review completed on nutritional interventions to improve sleep in people with intellectual disabilities. Dietary patterns may be an important factor to improving the quality and quantity of sleep. However, the current literature regarding the benefit of improved nutrition on sleep in people with an intellectual disability needs to be interpreted with caution.
