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 .
Effects of nesting and swaddling on the sleep duration of premature infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units
Background : In neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU ) , neonatal sleep is disrupted due to different factors . Due to the critical role of sleep in premature infants′ brain development , this study aim ed to investigate the effect of nesting and swaddling on the sleep duration of premature infants hospitalized in NICUs . Material s and Methods : In a crossover clinical trial , 42 preterm infants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled . They were r and omly assigned to two groups of nest-swaddle and swaddle-nest .  Sleep status was evaluated by observation and use of Prechtl′s criteria . Then , duration s of total sleep time ( TST ) and quiet sleep time ( QST ) were recorded . Data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance ( ANOVA ) . Results : Mean values of TST and QST during nesting and also swaddling periods were significantly higher than in the control period in both groups ( P < 0.001 ) . Mean values of TST and QST in the swaddling period were higher than in the nesting period in both groups , However , these differences were not significant ( P = 0.245 ) . Conclusions : Both swaddling and nesting could significantly increase the duration of TST and QST , compared to the control . There were no significant differences between the effects of these interventions on TST and QST . Therefore , using any of these methods is suggested to improve infants′  quality of sleep in NICU , with respect to the ward policies
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 .