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0092 Influence of Evening Alcohol Consumption on Nocturnal Cardiac Reactivity During NREM vs REM Sleep
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0092 Influence of Evening Alcohol Consumption on Nocturnal Cardiac Reactivity During NREM vs REM Sleep

Jenna-Marie Beisert, Ankita Talukdar, Tatiana Solis-Montenegro, Jennifer Bigalke, Jeremy Bigalke and Jason Carter
Sleep (New York, N.Y.), Vol.47(Supplement_1), pp.A41-A41
05/01/2024
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsae067.0092
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsae067.0092View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Introduction Chronic alcohol consumption disrupts sleep, especially rapid eye movement (REM). However, the impact of alcohol on nocturnal cardiovascular responses to cortical arousal during non-REM (NREM) and REM sleep remains unknown. This present study investigated the impact of evening binge alcohol on heart rate (HR) reactivity following nocturnal cortical arousals in NREM vs. REM sleep. We hypothesized that alcohol intake would lead to increased HR responsiveness following cortical arousals in both sleep stages. Methods Fifteen healthy adults (6 male, 9 female; 27±2 yrs.; 28±1 kg/m2) underwent two testing conditions (i.e., alcohol vs fluid control) separated by one month in a randomized cross-over design. In the alcohol condition, a dosage of 4-5 drinks, two hours before bed was given based off the NIAAA definition of binge drinking (i.e., 1g/kg men, 0.85 g/kg women). In the control condition, a volume matched fluid-control was used. Overnight polysomnography with continuous electrocardiogram was used to quantify sleep, arousals, and nocturnal HR following each condition. HR responses were characterized for 20 cardiac cycles following spontaneous cortical arousals. Results Absolute HR was elevated following binge alcohol consumption in both REM (Placebo: 65±2 vs. Alcohol: 73±3 beats/min, p< 0.001) and NREM (Placebo: 64±2 vs. Alcohol: 71±3 beats/min, p< 0.001) sleep. In NREM there was a significant condition x time effect in HR reactivity (p< 0.001). NREM early phase HR arousal responsiveness was blunted in cardiac cycles 2,3, and 4 (all p< 0.05) following alcohol consumption, but HR remained elevated in the latter half at cardiac cycle 15 (Placebo: Δ-0.9±1.0 vs. Alcohol: Δ0.9±0.7 beats/min, P=0.038). There was no condition (P=0.916) or condition x time interaction effect (P=0.999) on HR reactivity during REM sleep. Conclusion The present study observed an increase in absolute HR in both REM and NREM sleep following evening alcohol intake. However, alcohol has differential effects on HR reactivity to arousal during REM and NREM sleep, whereby the initial HR response to cortical arousals is blunted, but the recovery response is augmented during NREM sleep. These findings point to a stage-specific effect of evening binge alcohol consumption on nocturnal cardiac reactivity to naturally occurring arousals. Support (if any) NIH (AA-024892; U54GM115371; P20GM103474).
 Alcohol use NREM sleep REM sleep

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