Premature babies who sleep a lot actively have better development of the white matter in their brains. During active sleep, babies laugh, move or even make sounds. This phase of their sleep appears to be a very important part of good brain development in premature babies. And this is especially important for these babies, because their brain development often lags behind. UMC Utrecht reports this.
Babies who are hospitalized because of their prematurity often have their sleep disturbed. Healthcare providers perform all kinds of medical procedures, which may also take place at a later time. If these babies had still been in the womb, they might have slept 22 hours a day.
Many advantages
“The white matter is crucial in processing information and connecting different brain areas, which in turn is essential for cognitive and motor functions,” says researcher Eline de Groot. “We therefore expect that good quality sleep in the long term can have many benefits for these vulnerable babies.”
Do not wake baby from active sleep
It is therefore important that premature babies in the NICU get the sleep they need and that medical interventions are only done when a baby is not in active sleep. The UMC Utrecht will investigate whether this indeed ensures that this vulnerable group of patients indeed has better brain development.
By: National Healthcare Guide / Johanne Levinsky
2024-01-18 12:26:12
#brain #development #premature #babies #active #sleep
