PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Tuffnell, C S
AU  - Petersen, S A
AU  - Wailoo, M P
TI  - Higher rectal temperatures in co-sleeping infants.
AID  - 10.1136/adc.75.3.249
DP  - 1996 Sep 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood
PG  - 249--250
VI  - 75
IP  - 3
4099  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/75/3/249.short
4100  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/75/3/249.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child1996 Sep 01; 75
AB  - The effect on deep body temperature of infants co-sleeping (with either or both parents) is investigated in this case control study. Overnight continuous recordings of rectal temperature were made from 34 babies co-sleeping with one or both parents throughout the night and 34 infants matched for age, feeding regimen, parental smoking, thermal environment, sleeping position, and sex who slept alone. The co-sleeping infants had significantly higher rectal temperatures from two hours after bedtime, when the initial fall in sleeping body temperature was complete. The mean rectal temperature of co-sleeping infants between two and eight hours was 0.1 degree C higher than that of infants sleeping alone (p < 0.04). Given the very small variance in rectal temperature this probably reflects a considerable physiological difference between the two groups.