Abstract
Sleep problems can be caused by psychological stress but are also related to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Improving lifestyle behaviors, such as good sleep hygiene, can help to counteract the negative effects of neurodegenerative diseases and to improve quality of life. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between subjectively reported measures of sleep quality (via Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)) and objective measures of cardiac autonomic control (via resting state heart rate variability (HRV)) among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The PSQI and resting state HRV data of 42 MCI participants (69.0 ± 5.5; 56–80 years) were analyzed. Nineteen of the participants reported poor sleep quality (PSQI score > 5). Good sleepers showed higher resting heart rate than bad sleepers (p = 0.037; ES = 0.670). Correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between the parameter HF nu and sleep efficiency, contrasting the expected positive association between reduced HRV and poor sleep quality in healthy and individuals with specific diseases. Otherwise, there were no significances, indicating that measures of subjective sleep quality and resting HRV were not related in the present sample of MCI participants. Further research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between HRV and lifestyle factors (e.g., sleep) in MCI.
Highlights
The present study aims to investigate the association between subjective measures of sleep quality and cardiac autonomic control in older adults with
The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between subjective measures of sleep quality and resting state heart rate variability (HRV) among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
The findings of the present study suggested that subjectively reported sleep quality was not related to resting state cardiac autonomic control in participants with MCI
Summary
The proportion of older adults is increasing, leading to a decreased proportion of younger relative to older age groups. The proportion of people over 65 years is expected to rise from 9.3% in 2020 to 22.6% in 2100 [1]. This development implies new challenges for the health care system due to the parallel increase in age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases [2]. The number of individuals with MCI (mild cognitive impairments) increases. MCI is characterized by mild cognitive changes (i) that are serious enough to be noticed by the person affected and by their family members
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