Free Day, but Not Work Day, Sleep Duration Is Inversely Associated With Aortic Stiffness in Apparently Healthy Young Adults

• Published in: The FASEB journal 2022-05, Vol.36 (S1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Lincoln, Zoe R., Cross, Brett L., Vondrasek, Joseph D., Frederick, Josiah M., Blumenburg, Wesley T., Gaither, Peter, Chall, Amy, Bryan, Anna, Bock, Joshua M., Flatt, Andrew A., Robinson, Austin T., Grosicki, Gregory J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0892-6638; 1530-6860
• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.L7878

Insufficiency or irregularity in sleep is associated with high blood pressure (BP) and aortic stiffness, both of which are independent predictors of all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality. The cardiovascular ramifications of short and irregular sleep are well documented in shift workers, but the health implications of possible differences between sleep duration on workdays (WD) and free days (FD) in non‐shift workers is less clear. PURPOSE We sought to examine associations between WD and FD sleep duration, and then to inspect for relationships between WD and FD sleep duration, as well as the difference between WD and FD sleep duration (i.e., sleep irregularity), with BP and indices of arterial stiffness in apparently healthy young adults. We hypothesized 1) participants would sleep less on WD than FD, and 2) that participants with short WD sleep duration would exhibit higher BP and arterial stiffness, and 3) those with greater sleep irregularity would exhibit higher BP and arterial stiffness. METHODS 16 apparently healthy young adults (21.8±4.0 yrs; 24.4±2.9 kg/m2; Mean±SD) participated in this study. All participants completed the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire to assess self‐described WD and FD sleep‐wake behavior. WD and FD sleep duration were determined, and sleep irregularity was quantified as the absolute value of the difference between WD and FD sleep duration. Following 10‐min of supine rest, we used an automated oscillometric device (SphygmoCor XCEL) to measure BP and augmentation index (AIx), an indirect measure of arterial stiffness. Aortic stiffness was then assessed using carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (cf‐PWV). WD and FD sleep duration were compared using a paired t‐test and associations between sleep with BP and indices of arterial stiffness were assessed using Pearson correlations, or the non‐parametric equivalent for sleep irregularity. RESULTS WD sleep duration was 492±85 min, FD sleep duration was 480±83 min, and sleep irregularity was 53±49 min. Systolic BP was 120±10 mmHg, diastolic BP was 68±7 mmHg, AIx was 10.9±9.8 %, and cf‐PWV was 5.8±0.7 m/s. WD sleep duration was significantly greater (P0.05) with systolic BP (r=0.10), diastolic BP (r=0.10), AIx (r=0.07), or cf‐PWV (r=‐0.18). FD sleep duration was inversely correlated with cf‐PWV (r=‐0.65; P=0.01), but was not associated (P>0.05) with systolic BP (r=‐0.12), diastolic BP (r =‐0.08), or AIx (r=0.25). S