Chronic sleep deprivation was more strongly correlated with average R-R time than acute sleep deprivation (R=0.363 vs R=0.156; p=0.0470), indicating a greater impact on heart rate variability.
Observational (n=76)
Does chronic sleep deprivation have a greater impact on Heart Rate Variability than acute sleep deprivation?
Chronic sleep deprivation has a significantly greater impact on reducing Heart Rate Variability compared to acute sleep deprivation, highlighting its detrimental effect on cardiac health.
Effect estimate: R=0.363
p-value: p=0.0470
Sleep deprivation is a major issue in human health. Studies (Hollis et al. 2025) have shown that adequate sleep is necessary for a multitude of cellular and neural functions. Despite this information, it remains that 1 in every 3 Americans reports less than the recommended 7-9 hours nightly, with 70 million of them reporting chronic sleep deprivation (Barber et al. 2025). An individual’s cardiac health is one of the most important systems affected by sleep deprivation. This study measures Heart Rate Variability (HRV), using a noninvasive, relatively inexpensive method to collect data through electrocardiograms (ECGs). Increased or decreased cardiac health due to sleep deprivation will be reflected as an increase or decrease in HRV. Previous research has identified positive correlations between amounts of sleep and HRV (Gouin et al. 2015), but the effects of chronic versus acute sleep deprivation on HRV are further explored in this study (Elon IRB 23-160). This study utilized surveys and HRV data from ECGs to examine differences in chronic (n = 40, avg age = 25.75) and acute (n = 36, avg age = 26.36) sleep deprivation. Chronic sleep deprivation vs average R-R time was more strongly correlated (R = 0.363) than acute sleep deprivation vs average R-R time (R = 0.156). Paired ANCOVA analysis demonstrated a significant difference between chronic and acute RR average data (p = 0.0470). as well as chronic vs acute sdRR (p=0.0824) and pRR50 (0.0469). These results show that chronic sleep deprivation has a significantly greater impact on HRV, and thus cardiac health, than acute sleep deprivation. The hypothesis that an increase in chronic sleep deprivation will lead to a decrease in HRV is supported by these results. Future research to uncover direct links between sleep deprivation and HRV could be used to advance public awareness of chronic sleep deprivation. Funded by the Undergraduate Research Program at Elon University and the Department of Biology at Elon University. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
LaMore et al. (Fri,) conducted a observational in Sleep deprivation (n=76). Chronic sleep deprivation vs. Acute sleep deprivation was evaluated on Average R-R time (Heart Rate Variability) (R=0.363, p=0.0470). Chronic sleep deprivation was more strongly correlated with average R-R time than acute sleep deprivation (R=0.363 vs R=0.156; p=0.0470), indicating a greater impact on heart rate variability.