Cycled light promotes growth in pre-te...( grow within a rich circadian environme...),Health

grow within a rich circadian environment provided by the mother. Therefore it is likely that a circadian environment is important for pre-term infants. Light is one method that we can use to promote circadian rhythms for these infants and encourage growth and healthy sleep patterns."

Researchers from the schools of nursing at both Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) examined the effects of cycled light on 62 infants born before 31 weeks gestation at Duke University Hospital and Durham Regional Hospital. Infants with neurologic or visual problems were excluded from the study. The babies were assigned randomly to three groups: cycled light from birth, cycled light once they reached 32 weeks postconceptual age (equivalent to gestational age if the baby had not been born pre-term) and cycled light at 36 weeks postconceptual age. Infants in all three groups were similar with respect to degree of prematurity and birth weight.

The babies were weighed daily. Infants who received cycled light from birth and cycled light at 32 weeks postconceptual age grew more rapidly than the babies who received cycled light just before discharge.

"Now that we know that cycled light does encourage growth in the short term, we need to also follow these babies for long-term impact," said Brandon. "In two to five years, will we see that these babies have continued to grow well? Will they have developed sleep patterns earlier and have better language and cognitive development? We need to know the answers to these questions."

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Contact: Amy Austell
amy.austell@duke.edu
919-681-8061
Duke University Medical Center
21-Feb-2002

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