Associations of Reduced Sympathetic Neural Activity and Elevated Baroreflex Sensitivity With Non–Rapid Eye Movement Sleep: Evidence From Electroencephalogram- and Electrocardiogram-Based Sleep Staging

Objective Autonomic neural controls in sleep regulation have been previously demonstrated; however, whether these alternations can be observed by different sleep staging approaches remains unclear. Two established methods for sleep staging—the standardized visual scoring and the cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) analysis based on electrocardiogram—were used to explore the cardiovascular profiles of sleep. Methods Overnight polysomnography was recorded together with continuous beat-to-beat blood pressure. Cortical activity, heart rate variability, blood pressure variability, and baroreflex sensitivity during sleep stages from 24 nights of sleep were obtained from 15 normotensive participants and analyzed. Results Non–rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) from visual scoring and restful sleep (RS) of CPC both showed the highest delta power of electroencephalogram (EEG) and lowest beta activity of EEG in comparison with other sleep stages (p
Source: Psychosomatic Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research