Environmental factors influencing biological rhythms in newborns: From neonatal intensive care units to home

Photic and non-photic environmental factors are suggested to modulate the development of circadian rhythms in infants. Our aim is to evaluate the development of biological rhythms (circadian or ultradian) in newborns in transition from Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) to home and along the first 6 months of life, to identify masking and entraining environment factors along development. Ten newborns were evaluated in their last week inside the NICU and in the first week after being delivered home; 6 babies were also followed until 6 months of corrected age. Activity, recorded with actimeters, wrist temperature and observed sleep and feeding behavior were recorded continuously along their last week inside the NICU and in the first week at home and also until 6 months of corrected age for the subjects who remained in the study. Sleep/wake and activity/rest cycle showed ultradian patterns and the sleep/wake was strongly influenced by the 3 h feeding schedule inside the NICU, while wrist temperature showed a circadian pattern that seemed no to be affected by environmental cycles. A circadian rhythm emerges for sleep/wake behavior in the first week at home, whereas the 3 h period vanishes. Both activity/rest and wrist temperature presented a sudden increase in the contribution of the circadian component immediately after babies were delivered home, also suggesting a masking effect of the NICU environment. We found a positive correlation of postconceptional age and the increase in the daily component of activity and temperature along the following 6 months, while feeding behavior became arrhythmic.