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Distal-proximal skin temperature gradient prior to sleep onset in infants for clinical use
1Japanese Red Cross Akita College of Nursing, Akita Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Science, Akita, Japan.
Insights
A rising distal-proximal skin temperature gradient (DPG) within 15 minutes of lights-off helps predict sleep-onset latency in infants. A sustained low DPG indicates difficulty falling asleep.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Infant Physiology
- Thermoregulation Research
Background:
- Assessing infant sleep-onset latency at home is challenging.
- Distal-proximal skin temperature gradient (DPG) is a potential non-invasive indicator.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if DPG can predict sleep-onset latency in infants during nighttime sleep at home.
- To establish the relationship between DPG changes and sleep onset in infants.
Main Methods:
- Continuous recording of foot (distal) and abdominal (proximal) skin temperature in 4-9 month old infants.
- Sleep-onset latency determined by actigraphy after lights-off.
- Analysis of DPG profile in relation to sleep-onset latency.
Main Results:
- 43 nights of data from 28 infants were analyzed.
- Infants with DPG increasing to ≥-2.5°C within 15 min were more likely to sleep within 30 min (>60%).
- A low DPG (<-2.5°C) at 15 min post lights-off predicted difficulty falling asleep (87.5% predictive value).
Conclusions:
- The increase in DPG within 15 minutes of lights-off is a crucial factor for predicting infant sleep-onset latency.
- DPG monitoring offers a promising method for understanding infant sleep patterns at home.
Background:
The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of using distal-proximal skin temperature gradient (DPG) to predict sleep-onset latency of night-time sleep for infants at home.
Methods:
Foot (for distal) and abdominal (for proximal) skin temperature during sleep onset in healthy infants, aged 4-9 months, was continuously recorded using a temperature logger at home. Sleep-onset latency during each study night was defined as the interval from lights-off to sleep onset, determined on actigraphy. Association of DPG profile after lights-off with sleep-onset latency on the study nights was evaluated.
Results:
Data for 43 nights from 28 infants were available for analysis. With regard to low DPG (<-2.5°C) at lights-off, >60% of infants fell asleep within 30 min if DPG was increased to ≥-2.5°C within 15 min after lights-off. If DPG remained at <-2.5°C at 15 min after lights-off, however, only 20% of infants fell asleep within 30 min. In addition, if infants were still awake at 15 min after lights-off and the DPG at that time was <-2.5°C, they were not likely to quickly fall asleep (predictive value was 0.875).
Conclusions:
Increase in DPG by 15 min after lights-off is a key determinant for sleep-onset latency.
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