Recovery Sleep After Sleep Restriction Is Insufficient to Return Elevated Daytime Heart Rate and Systolic Blood Pressure to Baseline Levels

Abstract

Objective: Sleep restriction alters daytime cardiac activity, including elevating heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). There is minimal research on the cumulative effects of sleep loss and the response after subsequent recovery sleep on HR and BP. This study examined patterns of HR and BP across baseline, sleep restriction, and recovery conditions using multiple daytime cardiac measurements. Methods: Participants (15 healthy men, mean [standard deviation] = 22.3 [2.8] years) completed an 11-day inpatient protocol with three nights of 10 hours/night baseline sleep opportunity, five sleep restriction nights (5-hour/night sleep opportunity), and two recovery nights (10-hour/night sleep opportunity). Resting HR and BP were measured every 2 hours during wake. Multilevel models with random effects for individuals examined daytime HR and BP across study conditions and days into the study. Results: Mean daytime HR was 1.2 (0.5) beats/min lower during sleep restriction compared with baseline ( p < .001). During recovery, HR was 5.5 (1.0) beats/min higher ( p < .001), and systolic BP (SBP) was 2.9 (1.1) mm Hg higher ( p = .009). When accounting for days into the study (irrespective of condition) and measurement timing across the day, HR increased by 7.6 beats/min and SBP increased by 3.4 mm Hg across the study period ( p < .001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that daytime HR and SBP increase after successive nights of sleep restriction, even after accounting for measurement time of day. HR and SBP did not recover to baseline levels after two recovery nights of sleep, suggesting that longer recovery sleep may be necessary to recover from multiple, consecutive nights of moderate sleep restriction.

Reaction of the endogenous regulatory mechanisms to early weekday wakeups: a review of its popular explanations in light of model-based simulations

“…The authors concluded that 1) ad lib weekend sleep failed to prevent metabolic dysregulation during a repeated pattern of insufficient sleep and weekend recovery sleep ( Depner et al, 2021 ) and 2) the effects of insufficient sleep, with or without weekend ad lib sleep, on a 24-h pattern of energy balance were not dissimilar ( Depner et al, 2019 ). Another example is the study by Reichenberger et al (2023 ), who found an increase in the heart rate and systolic blood pressure following successive nights of sleep restriction, and neither the heart rate nor systolic blood pressure recovered to baseline levels following two nights of ad lib sleep.…”

Impact of bimonthly repeated total sleep deprivation and recovery sleep on cardiovascular indices

“…Indeed, chronic sleep loss is a serious public health issue associated with CV disease (Cappuccio et al., 2011 ; Liew & Aung, 2021 ; Liu & Chen, 2019 ; Mullington et al., 2009 ; Tobaldini et al., 2017 ), as well as numerous other adverse health consequences including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, obesity, morbidity, and mortality (Gallicchio & Kalesan, 2009 ; Mullington et al., 2009 ; Niu et al., 2022 ). In response to the two most commonly experienced types of sleep loss, total sleep deprivation (TSD) and sleep restriction, CV measures such as stroke volume (SV), left ventricular ejection time (LVET), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), cardiac index/cardiac output (CI/CO), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), and mean arterial pressure (MAP), have shown inconsistent findings, with some studies reporting alterations, and others showing no changes (Cernych et al., 2021 ; Kato et al., 2000 ; Keramidas et al., 2018 ; Krause et al., 2023 ; Kuetting et al., 2019 ; Lü et al., 2018 ; Mikulski et al., 2006 ; Muenter et al., 2000 ; Mullington et al., 2009 ; Papacocea et al., 2019 ; Reichenberger et al., 2023 ; Sauvet et al., 2010 ; Sunbul et al., 2014 ; Yamazaki, Rosendahl‐Garcia, et al., 2022 ; Zhong et al., 2005 ).…”