BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify the acute effects of ethanol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep. METHODS: Ten healthy male university students were enrolled in this study. An alcoholic beverage was given to each subject at a dosage of 0 (control), 0.5 (low dose: LD), or 1.0 g (high dose: HD) of pure ethanol/kg of body weight. All experiments were performed at 3-week intervals. On the day of the experiment, a Holter electrocardiogram was attached to the subject for a 24-hour period, and the subject was instructed to drink the above-described dosage of alcoholic beverage 100 minutes before going to bed; polysomnography was then performed for 8 hours. Power spectral analysis of the HRV was performed using the maximum entropy method, and the low- (LF: 0.04 to 0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF: 0.15 to 0.4 Hz) components along with LF/HF ratio were calculated. RESULTS: As alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Higher doses of ethanol also increased the LF/HF ratio compared with the measured ratio of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Acute ethanol intake inhibits parasympathetic nerve activity and results in predominance of sympathetic nerve activity during sleep, in a dosage-dependent manner. The results of this study suggest that ethanol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify the acute effects of ethanol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep. METHODS: Ten healthy male university students were enrolled in this study. An alcoholic beverage was given to each subject at a dosage of 0 (control), 0.5 (low dose: LD), or 1.0 g (high dose: HD) of pure ethanol/kg of body weight. All experiments were performed at 3-week intervals. On the day of the experiment, a Holter electrocardiogram was attached to the subject for a 24-hour period, and the subject was instructed to drink the above-described dosage of alcoholic beverage 100 minutes before going to bed; polysomnography was then performed for 8 hours. Power spectral analysis of the HRV was performed using the maximum entropy method, and the low- (LF: 0.04 to 0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF: 0.15 to 0.4 Hz) components along with LF/HF ratio were calculated. RESULTS: As alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Higher doses of ethanol also increased the LF/HF ratio compared with the measured ratio of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Acute ethanol intake inhibits parasympathetic nerve activity and results in predominance of sympathetic nerve activity during sleep, in a dosage-dependent manner. The results of this study suggest that ethanol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.
Authors: Julia K M Chan; John Trinder; Holly E Andrewes; Ian M Colrain; Christian L Nicholas Journal: Alcohol Clin Exp Res Date: 2013-06-25 Impact factor: 3.455
Authors: David M Lydon; Nilam Ram; David E Conroy; Aaron L Pincus; Charles F Geier; Jennifer L Maggs Journal: Addict Behav Date: 2016-05-20 Impact factor: 3.913
Authors: Marissa R Jones; Adam J Brandner; Leandro F Vendruscolo; Janaina C M Vendruscolo; George F Koob; Brooke E Schmeichel Journal: Front Neurosci Date: 2022-06-10 Impact factor: 5.152
Authors: Massimiliano de Zambotti; Fiona C Baker; David S Sugarbaker; Christian L Nicholas; John Trinder; Ian M Colrain Journal: Alcohol Clin Exp Res Date: 2014-02-27 Impact factor: 3.455
Authors: Ian M Greenlund; Jeremy A Bigalke; Anne L Tikkanen; John J Durocher; Carl A Smoot; Jason R Carter Journal: Sleep Date: 2021-11-12 Impact factor: 5.849