Published
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.
There is an article here on page 4
http://www.hopkinscme.net/ofp/eneonatalreview/Newsletters/jun05.pdf
Preemienurse23
214 Posts
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.