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Distal–proximal skin temperature gradient prior to sleep onset in infants for clinical use
Author(s) -
Abe Noriko,
Kodama Hideya
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.12473
Subject(s) - medicine , actigraphy , sleep onset , sleep (system call) , latency (audio) , sleep onset latency , anesthesia , pediatrics , audiology , circadian rhythm , psychiatry , insomnia , computer science , electrical engineering , operating system , engineering
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.