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Objective

Although stress can elicit profound and lasting effects on sleep, the pathways whereby stress affects sleep are not well understood. In this study, we used autoregressive spectral analysis of the electrocardiogram (EKG) interbeat interval sequence to characterize stress-related changes in heart rate variability during sleep in 59 healthy men and women.

Methods

Participants (N= 59) were randomly assigned to a control or stress condition, in which a standard speech task paradigm was used to elicit acute stress in the immediate presleep period. EKG was collected throughout the night. The high frequency component (0.15–0.4 Hz Eq) was used to index parasympathetic modulation, and the ratio of low to high frequency power (0.04–0.15 Hz Eq/0.15–0.4 Hz Eq) of heart rate variability was used to index sympathovagal balance.

Results

Acute psychophysiological stress was associated with decreased levels of …