Long-Term Study of Heart Rate Variability Responses to Changes in the Solar and Geomagnetic Environment

Abstract

This long-term study examined relationships between solar and magnetic factors and the time course and lags of autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses to changes in solar and geomagnetic activity. Heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded for 72 consecutive hours each week over a five-month period in 16 participants in order to examine ANS responses during normal background environmental periods. HRV measures were correlated with solar and geomagnetic variables using multivariate linear regression analysis with Bonferroni corrections for multiple comparisons after removing circadian influences from both datasets. Overall, the study confirms that daily ANS activity responds to changes in geomagnetic and solar activity during periods of normal undisturbed activity and it is initiated at different times after the changes in the various environmental factors and persist over varying time periods. Increase in solar wind intensity was correlated with increases in heart rate, which we interpret as a biological stress response. Increase in cosmic rays, solar radio flux, and Schumann resonance power was all associated with increased HRV and parasympathetic activity. The findings support the hypothesis that energetic environmental phenomena affect psychophysical processes that can affect people in different ways depending on their sensitivity, health status and capacity for self-regulation.

Exploring the Relationship between Geomagnetic Activity and Human Heart Rate Variability

“…We collected 720-hour HRV data from 19 participants and obtained geomagnetic and solar activity. Previous studies found significant, strong correlations between HRV and geomagnetic activity 8,9 In seeming agreement with this previous work, we also found significant correlations between the two type of variables before correction for the autocorrelation inherent to time-series. After correction for autocorrelation, however, we only found a significant correlation between very low-frequency power of HRV and K index and a significant anticipatory effect on heart rate with Ap index.…”

“…As a secondary focus, we report the effects of solar activity on HRV components. Similar to geomagnetic activity, solar activity has previously been correlated to SDNN, total power, LF, HF, VLF, and the LF/HF ratio 8,9 . Again contrasting the results of previous studies, we found no significant relationships between HRV components and solar index F10.7.…”

“…To test for the potential presence of a time-lag between geomagnetic activity and change in HRV, we computed correlations between HRV components and corresponding Ap-index values 1 day after (anticipatory) and Ap-index values 1 day before (consequential). This analysis was motivated by previous studies 8,9 that discussed a potential "anticipatory effect", which may relate to the fact that changes in solar activity take several days to modulate the geomagnetic field due to the time solar wind takes to reach the earth. In this analysis, we found a significant anticipatory relationship between heart rate and Ap index which survived the correction for autocorrelation of time-series; heart rate was negatively correlated with geomagnetic activity for corrected values ( Table 6, r=-.09, p=.03).…”

“…Yet, the relationship between HRV and geomagnetic activity remains unclear since several studies found conflicting results 12,13 . Here, we attempted to replicate a previous study that showed strong and significant correlations between HRV and solar geomagnetic activity in a small pilot study 8,9 . We found significant correlations between solar/geomagnetic activity and HRV components before correction for the autocorrelation inherent to time-series.…”

“…Recent studies found that the change in the magnetic field of the earth caused by solar activity is significantly correlated with HRV 8,9 . These studies were motivated by the relationship between cardiovascular health, specifically the occurrence of myocardial infarction, and both solar and geomagnetic activity 10,11 .…”