Unique very low-frequency heart rate variability during deep sleep in humans

Author

Togo, Fumiharu ; Kiyono, Ken ; Struzik, Zbigniew Romuald ; Yamamoto, Yoshiharu

Author_Institution

Dept. of Neurology & Neurosci., Univ. of Med. & Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA

Volume

53

Issue

1

fYear

2006

Firstpage

28

Lastpage

34

Abstract

We investigate heart rate variability (HRV) in the very low-frequency (VLF) range (0.003-0.04 Hz) during deep sleep in good sleepers. Spectral analysis of HRV during deep sleep reveals consistent peaks at <0.04 Hz. By using wavelet analysis, we find both stationary and nonstationary periodic patterns in the VLF range, the presence of which has been discussed but has not been fully established to date. Although the mechanism(s) behind the unique VLF oscillations remain to be fully explored, we conjecture that there is an endogenous rhythmic component in human HRV in the VLF range. Further, our results also suggest a need for caution in the interpretation of the VLF spectral power in HRV during deep sleep.

Keywords

electrocardiography; medical signal processing; oscillations; sleep; spectral analysis; 0.003 to 0.04 Hz; deep sleep; humans; spectral analysis; stationary periodic oscillations; very low-frequency heart rate variability; wavelet analysis; Cardiology; Continuous wavelet transforms; Educational technology; Heart rate variability; Humans; Laboratories; Nervous system; Physiology; Plasma temperature; Sleep; Autonomic nervous system; deep sleep; heart rate variability; nonstationary periodic oscillation; Adaptation, Physiological; Adult; Algorithms; Biological Clocks; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; Electrocardiography; Heart Rate; Humans; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sleep;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9294

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TBME.2005.859783

Filename

1561517