Enhancing Sleep Quality in Pediatric Intensive Care: A Chronobiological Perspective

Dent Clin North Am. 2024 Jul;68(3):467-474. doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2024.03.003. Epub 2024 May 18.

Abstract

Biologic synchronized rhythmicity is a critical physiologic process. The lack of synchronized rhythms, mainly those showing a circadian basis, like sleep, heart rate, and arterial pressure, often leads to several organic challenges usually associated with adverse outcomes. Sleep itself, as an independent regulator of many crucial body functions, should preferentially occur with minimum interferences to optimize its plastic role toward structural and functional recovery and regeneration. Hence, patients will mostly benefit from both circadian and sleep-related optimized functions in order to improve prognosis and reduce patients' discharge times.

Keywords: Chronobiology; Circadian rhythms; Critical illness; Intensive care unit; Pediatric sleep; Sleep.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Circadian Rhythm* / physiology
  • Critical Care
  • Humans
  • Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
  • Sleep / physiology
  • Sleep Quality*