Dawn simulation light: a potential cardiac events protector.
Sleep Med
; 16(4): 457-61, 2015 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25813092
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND:
Major cardiovascular events frequently increase in the morning due to abrupt changes in the sympatho-vagal cardiac control during the transition from sleep to wakefulness. These neural changes are translated into stepwise increases in cardiac functions, resulting in a potential cardiovascular stress. Here, we explored whether light can "optimize" heart rate and its neural control, by actively promoting a less steep transition from sleep to wakefulness, thus minimizing morning cardiovascular vulnerability.METHODS:
Seventeen healthy young men were awakened 2-hours before their habitual wake-time. In a counterbalanced within-subject design, we applied a control condition (darkness during sleep and dim light during wakefulness) or dawn-simulation-light (DSL) starting 30-minutes before and ending 30-minutes after scheduled wake-up time.RESULTS:
Our data reveal a significantly gradient reduction in heart rate during the transition from sleep to wakefulness, when applying DSL as compared to a control condition. Likewise, cardiac sympatho-vagal control smoothly increased throughout the 30-min sleep episode preceding scheduled wake-up under DSL and remained stable for the first 30-min of wakefulness. Interestingly, these effects were mostly driven by changes in the parasympathetic cardiac control.CONCLUSIONS:
Our data demonstrate for the first time that a non-invasive strategy, as light exposure surrounding the wake-up process, can significantly reduce the deleterious sleep-to-wake evoked cardiac modulation in healthy young men awakened under conditions of increased sleep pressure. A translational approach of this light exposure, which closely resembles natural lighting conditions in the morning, may therefore act as a potential protector for cardiac vulnerability in the critical morning hours.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Nível de Alerta
/
Frequência Cardíaca
/
Luz
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sleep Med
Assunto da revista:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article