OBJECTIVE: The use of an efficient noninvasive method to investigate the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular control during sleep. BACKGROUND: Beat-to-beat heart rate variability displays two main components: a low-frequency (LF) one representing sympathetic and parasympathetic influence and a high-frequency (HF) component of parasympathetic origin. Sympathovagal balance can be defined as LF/HF ratio. METHODS/ DESIGN: We reviewed normal, standardly staged all-night polysomnograms from 10 healthy children aged 6 to 17 years. Recorded 256-second traces of heart rate and respiration were sampled. Power spectra of instantaneous heart rate and respiration were computed using a fast Fourier transform method. RESULTS: The study revealed a decrease in LF during sleep, with minimal values during non-REM slow-wave sleep and elevated levels similar to those of wakefulness during REM. HF increased with sleep onset, reaching maximal values during slow-wave sleep, and behaved as a mirror image of LF. LF/HF ratio displayed changes similar to those in LF. CONCLUSION: The sympathetic predominance that characterizes wakefulness decreases during non-REM sleep, is minimal in slow-wave sleep, and surges toward mean awake levels during REM sleep. The autonomic balance is shifted toward parasympathetic predominance during slow-wave sleep. This noninvasive method used to outline autonomic activity achieves results that are in complete agreement with those obtained with direct invasive tools.
OBJECTIVE: The use of an efficient noninvasive method to investigate the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular control during sleep. BACKGROUND: Beat-to-beat heart rate variability displays two main components: a low-frequency (LF) one representing sympathetic and parasympathetic influence and a high-frequency (HF) component of parasympathetic origin. Sympathovagal balance can be defined as LF/HF ratio. METHODS/ DESIGN: We reviewed normal, standardly staged all-night polysomnograms from 10 healthy children aged 6 to 17 years. Recorded 256-second traces of heart rate and respiration were sampled. Power spectra of instantaneous heart rate and respiration were computed using a fast Fourier transform method. RESULTS: The study revealed a decrease in LF during sleep, with minimal values during non-REM slow-wave sleep and elevated levels similar to those of wakefulness during REM. HF increased with sleep onset, reaching maximal values during slow-wave sleep, and behaved as a mirror image of LF. LF/HF ratio displayed changes similar to those in LF. CONCLUSION: The sympathetic predominance that characterizes wakefulness decreases during non-REM sleep, is minimal in slow-wave sleep, and surges toward mean awake levels during REM sleep. The autonomic balance is shifted toward parasympathetic predominance during slow-wave sleep. This noninvasive method used to outline autonomic activity achieves results that are in complete agreement with those obtained with direct invasive tools.
Authors: Duanping Liao; Xian Li; Alexandros N Vgontzas; Jiahao Liu; Sol Rodriguez-Colon; Susan Calhoun; Edward O Bixler Journal: J Sleep Res Date: 2010-03-08 Impact factor: 3.981
Authors: Kamran Mahmood; Natasha Akhter; Kamal Eldeirawi; Ergün Onal; John W Christman; David W Carley; James J Herdegen Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2009-06-15 Impact factor: 4.062