| To promote Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environments that are optimally supportive of preterm infant development, a methodology was developed to detect arousals from sleep in preterm infants in a NICU, and applied to two 2-day old preterm infants of 32 and 36 weeks gestational age respectively. Data consisted of 24-hour clinical electroencephalogram records, with concurrent polygraphic measures (respiration, electooculograph, chin electromyograph) and audiovisual recordings. Sleep states (waking, active sleep, quiet sleep and two transition states), arousals (present or not), and environmental events (sound level, light fluctuation, interaction, on three-point intensity scales) were coded in 30-second epochs for 3 two-hour segments per participant, over a 12-hour period. Numeric and graphical descriptions of sleep, arousals, and environment were presented. Implications for future studies included the development of valid, reliable, and useful definition of arousal, and the issues surrounding the measurement of NICU events and their effect on sleep quality and quantity. |
