Oxygen consumption during sleep in children under continuous and cyclic nutrition

The present study investigated the effects of two modalities of parenteral nutrition (continuous nutrition over the 24-hour period vs. cyclic nutrition, i.e., administered only during the night) on O2 consumption during sleep in children affected by severe gastrointestinal diseases. In both feeding modalities O2 consumption was always highest in REM sleep, intermediate in stage 2 and lowest in SWS. The trends during the night of O2 consumption (an increase from the second to the third part of the night) for different sleep stages were comparable in both feeding modalities. These results suggest that O2 consumption is not affected by the feeding modalities investigated, but is dependent on both sleep stages and time of night.