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High-Frequency Heart Rate Variability Reactivity and Trait Worry Interact to Predict the Development of Sleep Disturbances in Response to a Naturalistic Stressor

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

High-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) reactivity was proposed as a vulnerability factor for stress-induced sleep disturbances. Its effect may be amplified among individuals with high trait worry or sleep reactivity.

Purpose

This study evaluated whether HF-HRV reactivity to a worry induction, sleep reactivity, and trait worry predict increases in sleep disturbances in response to academic stress, a naturalistic stressor.

Method

A longitudinal study following 102 undergraduate students during an academic semester with well-defined periods of lower and higher academic stress was conducted. HF-HRV reactivity to a worry induction, trait worry using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and sleep reactivity using the Ford Insomnia Stress Reactivity Test were measured during the low stress period. Sleep disturbances using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were assessed twice during the lower stress period and three times during the higher stress period.

Results

Greater reductions in HF-HRV in response to the worry induction predicted increases in sleep disturbances from the lower to the higher academic stress period. Trait worry moderated this association: individuals with both higher trait worry and greater HF-HRV reactivity to worry had larger increases in stress-related sleep disturbances over time, compared to participants with lower trait worry and HF-HRV reactivity. A similar, but marginally significant effect was found for sleep reactivity.

Conclusion

This study supports the role of HF-HRV reactivity as a vulnerability factor for stress-induced sleep disturbances. The combination of high trait worry and high HF-HRV reactivity to worry might identify a subgroup of individuals most vulnerable to stress-related sleep disturbances.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Gouin received research support from the Canada Research Chairs program, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Dr. Dang-Vu received research support from the CFI, CIHR, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the American Sleep Medicine Foundation (ASMF), the Fonds de Recherche du Québec—Santé (FRQS), the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, and Concordia University. Dr. Deschênes received support from a CIHR postdoctoral fellowship. Mr. Caldwell received scholarship support from SSHRC and Concordia University. Ms. MacNeil received scholarship support from CIHR, FRQS, and Concordia University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

    Sasha MacNeil BA (Hons), Warren Caldwell MSc, Melanie Brouillard BA (Hons) & Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD

  2. Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Sonya S. Deschênes PhD

  3. Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Sonya S. Deschênes PhD

  4. Department of Exercise Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

    Thien-Thanh Dang-Vu MD, PhD

  5. Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal and Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Thien-Thanh Dang-Vu MD, PhD

  6. PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

    Thien-Thanh Dang-Vu MD, PhD & Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD

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  1. Sasha MacNeil BA (Hons)
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  2. Sonya S. Deschênes PhD
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  3. Warren Caldwell MSc
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  5. Thien-Thanh Dang-Vu MD, PhD
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  6. Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD
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Correspondence to Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD.

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Authors Sonya S. Deschênes, Sasha MacNeil, Warren Caldwell, Melanie Brouillard, Thien-Thanh Dang-Vu, and Jean-Philippe Gouin declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures, including the informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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MacNeil, S., Deschênes, S.S., Caldwell, W. et al. High-Frequency Heart Rate Variability Reactivity and Trait Worry Interact to Predict the Development of Sleep Disturbances in Response to a Naturalistic Stressor. ann. behav. med. 51, 912–924 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-017-9915-z

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