Daily worry is related to low heart rate variability during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period

Stress and anxiety are risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Worry might be a mediator of their risks by prolonging their cognitive representation and concomitant CV activity. We hypothesized that daily stressors and worry, and trait anxiety and trait worry would be associated with high hear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of psychophysiology 2007, Vol.63 (1), p.39-47
Main Authors: Brosschot, Jos F., Van Dijk, Eduard, Thayer, Julian F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Anxiety - etiology
Anxiety - psychology
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular disease
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Heart Diseases - complications
Heart Diseases - psychology
Heart Rate - physiology
Heart rate variability
Humans
Life Style
Male
Medical Records - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Pain Measurement
Perseverative cognition
Prolonged physiological activity
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Sleep physiology
Sleep Stages - physiology
Stress
Trait anxiety
Walking
Worry
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Summary:Stress and anxiety are risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Worry might be a mediator of their risks by prolonging their cognitive representation and concomitant CV activity. We hypothesized that daily stressors and worry, and trait anxiety and trait worry would be associated with high heart rate (HR) and low heart rate variability (HRV) during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, and that worry would mediate the effects of daily stressors. Low HRV and high HR are physiological risk factors for CV disease. Using an hourly diary, stressors, worry frequency and duration, and biobehavioral variables were measured during one day in 52 healthy subjects. During this time and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period, ambulatory ECG was measured. Stressors, worry and traits were related to higher HR and lower HRV during waking, and the effects of stressors and worry were extended into the sleeping period. Worry duration mediated the effects of stressors. The results were largely independent of biobehavioral variables including sleep quality. The results support the notion that worry, by prolonging CV activity, is a mediator of the CV risks of stress. They also imply a role for unconscious cognitive representation of stress.
ISSN:0167-8760
1872-7697
DOI:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2006.07.016