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Infants sleeping outdoors in a northern winter climate: skin temperature and duration of sleep

Marjo Tourula1, Arja Isola, Juhani Hassi

  • 1Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. marjo.tourula@oulu.fi

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|April 10, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Infants slept longer outdoors in winter, but prolonged outdoor sleep was limited by increased skin cooling. Appropriate clothing may facilitate longer outdoor sleep by preventing overheating.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric environmental health
  • Infant sleep physiology
  • Thermoregulation in infants

Background:

  • Understanding infant sleep patterns in varying thermal environments is crucial for development.
  • Limited research exists on the impact of outdoor winter conditions on infant sleep duration and skin temperature.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between the thermal environment, infant skin temperatures, and daytime outdoor sleep duration during northern winters.
  • To analyze how ambient temperature and air velocity affect infant thermoregulation and sleep during outdoor and indoor sleep periods.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-over observational study involving three-month-old infants.
  • Continuous recording of skin temperatures from seven sites during outdoor (n=34) and indoor (n=33) sleep in home environments.
  • Observation of sleep duration, and measurement of ambient temperature and air velocity.

Main Results:

  • Infant skin temperatures decreased during outdoor sleep and increased during indoor sleep.
  • The rate of skin temperature decrease (cooling rate) correlated with lower outdoor temperatures, despite increased clothing.
  • Outdoor sleep duration was longer but shortened when the skin cooling rate increased.

Conclusions:

  • Longest sleep durations were observed outdoors when the skin cooling rate was minimal.
  • Clothing restriction may prolong sleep, and cold environments allow for swaddling without overheating.
  • Reduced ambient temperatures increased heat loss, indicating partial compensation by clothing.
Abstract

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