Influence of incubator humidity on sleep and behaviour of neonates kept at stable body temperature

The influence of incubator air humidity (via passive humidification through use of a water reservoir or via active humidification to 2 and 4 kPa) on sleep and behavioural changes was investigated in 13 neonates. The thermal environment of the incubator was servocontrolled via an interactive device tracking the skin temperature changes of the neonates. Using this servocontrolled skin temperature derivative heating programme, it is believed that an increase in air moisture content (reducing evaporative skin cooling) can be counterbalanced by a fall in neutral air temperature, so as to keep the body thermally constant. This procedure permits the experimental evaluation of the specific effect of air humidity on the thermal equilibrium air temperature and the thermal comfort of neonates without eliciting thermoregulatory mechanisms. Under the experimental conditions, in order to keep body temperature stable an increase in water vapour partial pressure from 1.72 (water reservoir) to 3.99 kPa (produced by a nebulizer) is counterbalanced by a decrease in air temperature of 1.49°C. Within this humidity range, the air temperature must be lowered by 0.05°C when the vapour pressure is increased by 0.08 kPa. The magnitude of this deviation depends on the humidity range and is probably a result of changes in the wetted skin area.

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