Preterm toddlers have low nighttime sleep quality and high daytime activity.

A number of studies have been made on the sleep characteristics of children born preterm in an attempt to develop methods to address the sleep problems commonly observed among such children. However, the reported sleep characteristics from these studies vary depending on the observation methods used, i.e., actigraphy, polysomnography and questionnaire. In the current study, to obtain reliable data on the sleep characteristics of preterm-born children, we investigated the difference in sleep properties between 97 preterm and 97 term toddlers of approximately 1.5 years of age using actigraphy. Actigraphy units were attached to the toddlers’ waists with an adjustable elastic belt for 7 consecutive days, and a child sleep diary was completed by their parents. In the study, we found that preterm toddlers had more nocturnal awakenings and more daytime activity, suggesting that preterm-born children may have a different process of sleep development in their early development

シンリンヨク ト ケンコウ ニ カンスル セイシン シンケイ メンエキガクテキ ケンキュウ

Effects of "shinrin-yoku (forest-air bathing and walking)" on psychological, physiological, and immunological aspects were examined. Twenty (10 male and 10female) undergraduates stayed in a forest environment and in a non forest environment for about 8 hours and they performed two types of acute stress tasks (Stroop task as a mental stressor and cold pressor as a physical stressor) in each environment. The subjects rated their affective states and their blood and urine were drown at the beginning and at the end of each experimental session. Immunological indexes (NK cell activity, immunoglobulin M, G, and A) and endocrine indexes (cortisol, cathecolamines) were assessed from their blood and urine samples. Subjects\u27 humoral immune levels (salivary immunoglobulin A), an endocrine measure (salivary cortisol), and psychological states (state anxiety and subjective stress) were evaluated before and after exposure to the stress tasks. Also, EEG, BOG, and ECG were measured during the Stroop task. The results of immunological indexes demonstrated that exposure to the forest environment effectively increased cellular and humoral immune activity. This finding implicated that shinrin-yoku has some positive effects for health promotion

Preterm toddlers have low nighttime sleep quality and high daytime activity

A number of studies have been made on the sleep characteristics of children born preterm in an attempt to develop methods to address the sleep problems commonly observed among such children. However, the reported sleep characteristics from these studies vary depending on the observation methods used, i.e., actigraphy, polysomnography and questionnaire. In the current study, to obtain reliable data on the sleep characteristics of preterm-born children, we investigated the difference in sleep properties between 97 preterm and 97 term toddlers of approximately 1.5 years of age using actigraphy. Actigraphy units were attached to the toddlers' waists with an adjustable elastic belt for 7 consecutive days, and a child sleep diary was completed by their parents. In the study, we found that preterm toddlers had more nocturnal awakenings and more daytime activity, suggesting that preterm-born children may have a different process of sleep development in their early development