Oxygen consumption during sleep in children under continuous and cyclic nutrition

Abstract The present study investigated the effects of two modalities of parenteral nutrition (continuous nutrition over the 24-hour period vs. cyclic nutrition, i.e., administered only during the night) on O 2 consumption during sleep in children affected by severe gastrointestinal diseases. In both feeding modalities O 2 consumption was always highest in REM sleep, intermediate in stage 2 and lowest in SWS. The trends during the night of O 2 consumption (an increase from the second to the third part of the night) for different sleep stages were comparable in both feeding modalities. These results suggest that O 2 consumption is not affected by the feeding modalities investigated, but is dependent on both sleep stages and time of night.