Effects of Deep Propioceptive Stimulation on the Efficiency of Sleep in People with Intellectual Disability and the Necessity of Extensive-Generalized Support - Abstract
Study carried out on people with intellectual disability (ID). The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of deep proprioceptive stimulation through the application of weight blankets on the efficiency of sleep in people with intellectual disabilities and the need for extensive-generalized support (study 1). A second objective was to evaluate if deep proprioceptive stimulation allows reducing the use of sedative medication (study 2). The study was applied in a sample of 64 people with ID (22 women 34%) with an average age of 41.05 years. Study 1 was divided into a pre-phase, in which the baseline of the subjects’ sleep parameters was recorded during a week, and a post-phase, also of a week duration, in which the weight blankets were used and the same sleep parameters were still recorded. Once study 1 was completed, 14 participants from the original sample, who took sedative medication, were selected, and their medication dose was reduced. There were no differences in environmental conditions between control and experimental conditions. The quality of the sleep was recorded during the study with actimetry sensors placed in the ankle of each person studied. The results showed that an improvement in sleep efficiency, and a reduction in the number and minutes of awakenings was achieved when the use of the deep weight blanket. The latency time (time it takes you to fall asleep) was shortened when
a deep-weight blanket was used even with the withdrawal of some sedative medication.