Cycling

Specialties NICU

Published

Do any of your units "cycle" your babies, so they develop/continue to have a circadian cycle?

I had my first vent baby who is 70 days old, (lots of issues with him), and I (by suggestion of the NNP) removed his cover and pulled up the blinds. He seemed to love it!! He looked around for the first 2-3 hrs, and then slept on and off for the rest of the shift. His O2 sats were great, we still had our desats, but they didn't dip as much as I had previously seen him. Then about 1900, I replaced everything to make it "night.".

I think its something that we may start on with all the babies in the isolettes. I personally like the idea. It makes sense to me.

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We changed our practice several years ago to cycle light. The exception is unstable babies.

I can't remember where the study was done, but it has been found that babies with cycled light gain weight faster.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Very interesting. I will have to point this out to one of the nursery dayshift gurus who insists vehmently that 'we don't turn off the lights in here.'

I work nights, and I DO turn them off., and try help them 'be circadian.' The babies sleep better, and it doesn't surprise me to find out in benefits them in other ways.

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

Once they start to get near term, yes, we try and cycle them and put on the 'daytime' lights in their bedspot.

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Specializes in NICU.

We cycle our lighting as a unit as well. The entire unit utilizes daytime lighting from 0700 to 1900, and nighttime lighting from 1900 to 0700.

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Specializes in Level 3 NICU 17 yrs, Neo transport 13 yr.

once the babies reach about 35 weeks, we start to cycle our lighting, unless of course they are unstable.

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