Compared to full term , premature infants exhibit significant differences in sleep structure , which mainly include differences in electroencephalographic spectral values , in total sleep time and in arousal threshold .
Furthermore , prematurity seems to be a risk factor of sleep breathing disorders in childhood and adolescence .
Conclusions The alterations in sleep patterns are an outcome of prematurity ( immaturity of nervous system ) as well as of postnatal factors and comorbidities .
Sleep problems in this population of infants seems to be a missing piece of the puzzle of impaired neurodevelopment .
Background Sleep undergoes changes from birth to adulthood , while sleep disorders are associated with various cognitive deficiencies in childhood .
In parallel , prematurity is known to predispose to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes .
Our aim is to provide literature data about factors influencing sleep in the premature infants and sleep outcomes in this population .
Long-term effects of caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity on sleep at school age.
RATIONALE Apnea of prematurity is a common condition that is usually treated with caffeine , an adenosine receptor blocker that has powerful influences on the central nervous system . However , little is known about the long-term effects of caffeine on sleep in the developing brain . OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that neonatal caffeine use result ed in long-term abnormalities in sleep architecture and breathing during sleep . METHODS A total of 201 ex-preterm children aged 5 - 12 years who participated as neonates in a double-blind , r and omized , controlled clinical trial of caffeine versus placebo underwent actigraphy , polysomnography , and  parental sleep question naires . Co primary outcomes were total sleep time on actigraphy and apnea-hypopnea index on polysomnography . MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS There were no significant differences in primary outcomes between the caffeine group and the placebo ( adjusted mean difference of -6.7 [ 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) = -15.3 to 2.0 min ] ; P = 0.13 for actigraphic total sleep time ; and adjusted rate ratio [ caffeine/placebo ] for apnea-hypopnea index of 0.89 [ 95 % CI = 0.55 - 1.43 ] ; P = 0.63 ) . Polysomnographic total recording time and total sleep time were longer in the caffeine group , but there was no difference in sleep efficiency between groups . The percentage of children with obstructive sleep apnea ( 8.2 % of caffeine group versus 11.0 % of placebo ; P = 0.22 ) or elevated periodic limb movements of sleep ( 17.5 % in caffeine group versus 11 % in placebo group ) was high , but did not differ significantly between groups . CONCLUSIONS Therapeutic neonatal caffeine administration has no long-term effects on sleep duration or sleep apnea during childhood . Ex-preterm infants , regardless of caffeine status , are at risk for obstructive sleep apnea and periodic limb movements in later childhood
Compared to full term , premature infants exhibit significant differences in sleep structure , which mainly include differences in electroencephalographic spectral values , in total sleep time and in arousal threshold .
Furthermore , prematurity seems to be a risk factor of sleep breathing disorders in childhood and adolescence .
Conclusions The alterations in sleep patterns are an outcome of prematurity ( immaturity of nervous system ) as well as of postnatal factors and comorbidities .
Sleep problems in this population of infants seems to be a missing piece of the puzzle of impaired neurodevelopment .
Background Sleep undergoes changes from birth to adulthood , while sleep disorders are associated with various cognitive deficiencies in childhood .
In parallel , prematurity is known to predispose to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes .
Our aim is to provide literature data about factors influencing sleep in the premature infants and sleep outcomes in this population .