Autonomic Modulation of the Cardiovascular System during Sleep

Abstract

There are several reasons for the growth of interest in the effect of sleep on the cardiovascular system. Because about one third of human life is spent sleeping, a description of the cardiovascular changes accompanying sleep is necessary for a thorough definition of the hemodynamic profile of everyday life. A more thorough understanding of the cardiac, vascular, and humoral effects of sleep may clarify why some cardiovascular events occur less often, and others more often, during sleep than during wakefulness^1,2. Because it arises from events within the central nervous system,³ mammalian sleep serves as a model for studying . . .