Increased infant axillary temperatures in non-REM sleep during mother-infant bed-sharing.
This study addressed the effect of mother-infant bed-sharing on infant body temperature and possible mediating mechanisms. Axillary temperatures were recorded for the entire night in 26 infants on both a bed-sharing night and a solitary sleeping night, accompanied by polysomnography and video-taping to allow assignment of sleep stages and behavioral analysis. All infants were approximately 3 months old, healthy, Latino and breast-feeding; 16 of the infants bed-shared since birth while the others routinely slept alone. Bed-sharing was associated with a significantly increased mean axillary temperature compared to solitary sleeping in both routine bed sharers and routine solitary sleepers. This increase was expressed only in non-REM sleep, with no differences during REM sleep or waking. The increase in temperature during bed-sharing may be related to an increased frequency of transient, movement-associated arousals during bed-sharing.
Richard
C A
CA
Department of Neurology, Sleep Disorders Center, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange 92868, USA.
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001365:Axilla / Q000502:physiology; D001512:Bedding and Linens; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D003441:Crowding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D012931:Social Environment