Sleep is vital for our physical and mental health. Studies have shown that there is a high prevalence of sleep disorders and sleep difficulties amongst adults with intellectual disabilities. Despite this, sleep is often overlooked or its disorders are considered to be difficult to treat in adults with intellectual disabilities. There is a significant amount of research and guidance on management of sleep disorders in the general population. However, the evidence base for sleep disorders in adults with intellectual disabilities is limited. In this review paper, we look at the current evidence base for sleep disorders in adults with an intellectual disability, discuss collaborative working between intellectual disabilities psychiatrists and sleep medicine specialists to manage sleep disorders, and provide recommendations for future directions.

Four young lambs fitted with cannulas at the pylorus and at the ileo-caecal junction were used to study the effects of weaning on digesta flow and mineral absorption. Prior to weaning when milk alone was fed the small intestine was the major site for dry matter disappearance and for the absorption of Ca, P, Na and K. Both the small and the large intestine were, however, important sites for Mg absorption at this time.

After weaning, when the lambs were fed a concentrate diet, at least two-thirds of the digested dry matter disappeared within the reticulo-rumen. The small intestine, however, still remained the major site for the absorption of Ca, P, Na and K. Most Mg absorption, in contrast, now occurred anterior to the pylorus and it would appear that the move from hindgut to foregut as a site for Mg absorption was directly associated with the introduction of dry feed and the development of fermentative digestion within the reticulo-rumen.

Both before and after weaning the faeces was the major route for the excretion of Ca surplus to requirement and the faeces also became increasingly important as a pathway for P and Mg excretion once dry feed was given. The urine, in contrast, was consistently the major pathway for the excretion of Na and K.