Regulation of Body Temperature During Sleep

Abstract

In a previous paper 1 it was shown that during an afternoon nap children exhibit a fall in rectal temperature which takes place usually in association with an initial rise and subsequent decline in the cutaneous temperature and the rate of evaporation of water from the body. At the time a way was being sought to eliminate error in measuring the basal rate of insensible perspiration over short periods. It was, however, pointed out that the oscillations in cutaneous temperature and in evaporation during sleep appear to result from a thermoregulatory process which operates in association with the lowering of the temperature of the body. The present paper will present new data and offer an amplified discussion of the experiments in so far as they bear on the regulation of body temperature. METHODSThe same technic was used as previously. Data are presented from 96 experiments on 9 normal children from 5 months to 4 years of age. During the course of an afternoon nap simultaneous measurements were made of the insensible loss of weight, the temperature of the skin at selected points and the rectal temperature. The environmental conditions varied greatly from day to day, but during any one experimental period the relative humidity fluctuated 2 to 5 points, and the room temperature, 0.5 to 1 degree C (0.9 to 1.8 degree F.).Each child received breakfast in his own home. He was brought to the clinic in the morning, two or three hours before the beginning of the observations, and was allowed to play in a room a few degrees cooler than the experimental room. He was given a glass of milk at 11:30 a. m. At some time between 1 and 3 p. m., when he appeared sleepy, he was brought to the experimental room, was unclothed and was placed on the pan of the balance. Observations on the rectal and the cutaneous temperature were begun at once. Weighings were begun as soon as the quietness induced by sleep permitted, which was from fifteen minutes to an hour or more after the child was placed on the balance. Observations were continued until the experiment was terminated either by the child's awakening or by his urinating.Cutaneous temperature was measured by a radiometer accurate to 0.2 degree C.

Nocturnal temperature and subcutaneous blood flow in humans

“…Thus, the rectal temperature decreased. and the skin temperature and the evaporative water loss increased at the onset of sleep (Day, 1941;Kreider & Iampietro, 1958;Kreider etpl., 1958;Scholander et al, 1958;Geschickter et al, 1966).…”

Control of the Cutaneous Circulation by the Central Nervous System

“…Body temperature falls in association with the onset of sleep, reflecting both increases in heat dissipation and decreases in heat production (5, 6, 49, 76, 77, 95, 125, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 174, 193, 273, 279, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 332).…”

Continuous Transepidermal Water Loss Measurement in Sleeping Infants

“…It is known that infants lose water through the skin during sleep (1,2). Several authors have reported t h e quantitative results of water evaporation rates, measured by the use of a n evaporimeter in relation to gestation (3-5), postnatal age ( 5 , 6), ambient temperature and humidity (7,8), or emotional control of sweating (3).…”