OBJECTIVE: Early morning wakefulness is associated with a peak in cardiac events. The influence of ageing on cardiac regulation during this time is unknown. This cross-sectional study of healthy men and women (n = 40, 20-30 and >60 years) investigated the effect of age on heart rate variability (HRV) during morning versus evening wakefulness and sleep. METHODS: Stable electrocardiogram data during each wake period and sleep stage was analysed using power spectral analysis. HRV measurements were assessed using two (young, older) by two (male, female) ANOVAs with repeated measures on wake/sleep stage. RESULTS: Young adults experienced increased low-frequency power and low-frequency/high-frequency ratios during morning wakefulness versus slow wave sleep (p < 0.01). Older adults did not show any variation in any HRV variables across wake and sleep stages. All effects were independent of gender. INTERPRETATION: Older adults did not experience increased sympathetic dominance during morning wakefulness; thus in the older population, fluctuations in autonomic control, indicated by HRV measurements, are unlikely to account for increased occurrence of cardiac events at this time.
OBJECTIVE: Early morning wakefulness is associated with a peak in cardiac events. The influence of ageing on cardiac regulation during this time is unknown. This cross-sectional study of healthy men and women (n = 40, 20-30 and >60 years) investigated the effect of age on heart rate variability (HRV) during morning versus evening wakefulness and sleep. METHODS: Stable electrocardiogram data during each wake period and sleep stage was analysed using power spectral analysis. HRV measurements were assessed using two (young, older) by two (male, female) ANOVAs with repeated measures on wake/sleep stage. RESULTS: Young adults experienced increased low-frequency power and low-frequency/high-frequency ratios during morning wakefulness versus slow wave sleep (p < 0.01). Older adults did not show any variation in any HRV variables across wake and sleep stages. All effects were independent of gender. INTERPRETATION: Older adults did not experience increased sympathetic dominance during morning wakefulness; thus in the older population, fluctuations in autonomic control, indicated by HRV measurements, are unlikely to account for increased occurrence of cardiac events at this time.
Authors: T Hori; Y Sugita; E Koga; S Shirakawa; K Inoue; S Uchida; H Kuwahara; M Kousaka; T Kobayashi; Y Tsuji; M Terashima; K Fukuda; N Fukuda Journal: Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2001-06 Impact factor: 5.188
Authors: Donald C Haas; Gregory L Foster; F Javier Nieto; Susan Redline; Helaine E Resnick; John A Robbins; Terry Young; Thomas G Pickering Journal: Circulation Date: 2005-02-08 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Antoine U Viola; Eleonora Tobaldini; Sarah L Chellappa; Karina Rabello Casali; Alberto Porta; Nicola Montano Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-04-22 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Julian P Saboisky; Daniel W Stashuk; Andrew Hamilton-Wright; John Trinder; Sanjeev Nandedkar; Atul Malhotra Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-08-11 Impact factor: 3.240