The impact of sleep quality combined with physical activity on autonomic function (24-hour HRV) in college students

Author

Meghan Peterson, James Madison UniversityFollow
Trent Hargens, James Madison University
Elizabeth Edwards, James Madison University
Christopher Womack, James Madison University

Preferred Name

Meghan Peterson

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Date of Graduation

5-11-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Graduate Kinesiology

Advisor(s)

Trent Hargens

Elizabeth Edwards

Christopher Womack

Abstract

Long-term poor sleep quality is associated with health outcomes that can lead to autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Both cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity (PA) are associated with improvements in autonomic function and heart rate variability (HRV). Markers of fitness and sleep were explored to determine the degree of contribution to autonomic dysfunction. A total of 15 subjects, (age = 20.6±0.5; BMI = 23.9±1.0) completed 7 days of physical activity and sleep assessment via accelerometry. Participants then completed a graded exercise test to determine cardiorespiratory fitness (VO_2max), followed by a 24-H HRV measurement. HRV through LF:HF ratio was negatively associated with moderate physical activity (MPA) (4.6% ± 0.7), percent in MPA, total moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and percentage spent in MVPA (2.6 ± 0.4 vs. 4.1 ± 1.7, p = 0.04). Students that obtained less than 7 hours of sleep tended to participate in lighter intensities of physical activity (333.6 ± 71.1 vs. 261.5 ± 68.3). Individuals that obtained more than 7 hours of sleep spent more time in vigorous exercise (3.2 ± 3.1 vs. 6.7 ± 4.5). Having a lower HRV status is associated with less time participating in MVPA. This demonstrates the importance of MVPA written for the general population and should be applied to college students, especially those that may lack proper sleep.

Recommended Citation

Peterson, Meghan; Hargens, Trent; Edwards, Elizabeth; and Womack, Christopher, "The impact of sleep quality combined with physical activity on autonomic function (24-hour HRV) in college students" (2023). Masters Theses, 2020-current. 194.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029/194