The impact of sleep in high-risk infants

Abstract: Most of an infant’s day is devoted to sleep – and normal sleep is vital to normal brain development. Sleep disruptions may impair overall health, well-being, and neurodevelopment. Disruptors of sleep and circadian health, such as noise, light, respiratory support, and clinical interventions, are highly prevalent in hospital and nursing care facilities. These factors particularly affect infants who already have an increased risk of sleep disorders and their consequences due to an underlying disease. Preterm infants and infants with disorders such as neonatal abstinence syndrome, craniofacial malformations, congenital heart disease, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, Chiari-malformation/myelomeningocele, congenital musculoskeletal disease, and Down syndrome are all at high risk for impaired development of sleep-wake cycling and for sleep-disordered breathing. Since abnormal sleep is a potentially treatable risk factor for impaired neurodevelopment, there is an urgent need for effective monitoring, timely interventions, and treatment strategies to improve sleep physiology and thereby optimize overall neurodevelopment in these high-risk populations. Impact: Healthy sleep plays a fundamental role in normal infant brain development. Many factors can disrupt sleep during a hospital stay. This is particularly important for infants who have an increased risk of sleep disorders due to neonatal disorders such as prematurity, congenital heart disease, or Chiari malformation. Sleep protective strategies are readily available and need to be systematically implemented into hospital care.