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Sleep Disordered Breathing Severity Alters Overnight Temperature Changes in Children
Georgina Plunkett1, Marisha Shetty1, Maria Vaz-Serra1
1Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Journal of Sleep Research
|March 29, 2026
Summary
Skin temperature monitoring is feasible during pediatric polysomnography. Children with moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnea show altered temperature regulation compared to those with milder conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Sleep quality is closely linked to body temperature fluctuations.
- Assessing body temperature during sleep studies in children is important for understanding sleep-related disorders.
- Previous research has not fully explored skin temperature variations in relation to sleep disordered breathing severity in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of measuring skin temperature in children during polysomnography.
- To investigate differences in body temperature regulation between children with varying severities of sleep disordered breathing.
- To analyze the distal-proximal temperature gradient as an indicator of thermoregulation during sleep.
Main Methods:
- Skin temperature was measured at proximal (chest) and distal (feet) sites using Thermochron iButtons in 63 children (aged 6-11.9 years) undergoing polysomnography.
- Children were categorized into primary snoring, Mild obstructive sleep apnea, and Moderate/Severe obstructive sleep apnea groups.
- Distal skin temperature (T_distal) and the distal-proximal gradient (T_distal - T_proximal) were calculated.
Main Results:
- Skin temperature measurements were successfully obtained in 93% of recruited children.
- Children with primary snoring and Mild obstructive sleep apnea demonstrated typical distal vasodilation before sleep onset and vasoconstriction after sleep onset.
- Children with Moderate/Severe obstructive sleep apnea showed no significant changes in distal temperature or gradient over time, with a slower rate of temperature change before sleep onset.
Conclusions:
- Skin temperature measurement is feasible and practical during pediatric polysomnography.
- Altered thermoregulation patterns, specifically blunted distal vasodilation/vasoconstriction, are observed in children with Moderate/Severe obstructive sleep apnea.
- These findings suggest that body temperature regulation during sleep may be a useful biomarker for assessing the severity of sleep disordered breathing in children.
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