The study identifies unique stationary and nonstationary periodic patterns in very low-frequency heart rate variability during deep sleep, suggesting an endogenous rhythmic component.
May reflect an endogenous sleep oscillator; leaves open its autonomic role and clinical utility of VLF HRV.
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.
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Togo et al. (2005) studied this question.
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