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Nocturnal heart rate and volitional lifestyle in the elderly
Ai Shirota1, Munehisa Tamaki, Hiroshi Nittono
1Department of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan.
Abstract:
The relationship between the level of volitional lifestyle and nocturnal heart rate (HR) in the elderly was investigated. Twenty high- and low-volitional elderly individuals (n = 10 each; mean age 73.2 years) participated in the study. Heart rate during nocturnal sleep was recorded at their homes using an ambulatory polysomnographic system. High-volitional individuals showed a lower HR throughout the night and less variability during rapid eye movement sleep. These findings suggest that a volitional lifestyle of the elderly has a beneficial effect on autonomic activity during sleep.