Effect of Change in Light Intensity from Low to High Illumination on Premature/Low Birth Weight Infants
10.2185/jjrm.65.1034
- VernacularTitle:低照度から高照度への変化が早産・低出生体重児に与える影響
- Author:
Tomoka WATANABE
;
Mayu SATO
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine
2017;65(5):1034-1038
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
The turning on of downlights during nighttime treatment in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) rapidly increases light intensity. Therefore, at Hospital A, we investigated how a change in light intensity from low to high affected 30 premature/low birth weight infants, by turning on downlights in the NICU for 10 s and using a stress scale to compare stress levels before and after the change in light intensity. High-intensity lighting induced tachypnea and brief pauses in breathing, and significantly decreased SpO2 by 0.6% in 58% of the infants. Autonomic stress responses observed in this study were apnea, tachypnea, hiccup, distress, twitching, yawning, and sighing. Motor stress responses were stretching the arms and legs, making a fist, and opening the palm. CNS stress responses were vocalization, scowling, and eye-opening (rapid change from sleep to arousal state). These findings suggest that the change to high-intensity lighting can induce stress symptoms and temporarily suppress breathing, which shortens inspiration as well as the entire respiratory cycle, thereby decreasing SpO2, in many infants in the NICU. Our findings also suggest that a change in light intensity causes stress not only in the autonomic nervous systems but also in other body systems.
