955 Sleep disturbances in intellectual developmental disability and its implications on health, lifestyle and quality of life Joel Reiter Abstract Sleep is defined as a reversible behavioral state of perceptual disengagement and unresponsiveness to the environment. Though its function is not clear we spend a third of our lives asleep. Sufficient sleep is required for life and optimal functioning, for brain development and growth and is vital for learning and memory. In recent years, it has become evident, that sleep disturbances are particularly common in certain populations with intellectual developmental disability (IDD), in which missing these diagnoses may be especially detrimental. Sleep medicine deals with difficulty sleeping (insomnia), excessive sleepiness (hypersomnia), circadian clock disorders, sleep related movement disorders, parasomnias (such as sleep walking or sleep talking) and sleep related breathing disorders (such as sleep apnea). The association between sleep disturbances and IDD may be complex. There are sleep disorders that are common in the general population and therefore also in those with IDD, however, there are also disorders that are specific for certain syndromes. Some disturbances may be the result of Chapter on page 205
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