Self-awakening, waking up at a designated time decided before sleeping, could prevent failure in the blood circulation vessel system such as heart attack, acute increases in heart rate or blood pressure upon waking. Previous research showed that anticipatory changes occurred in heart rate prior to awakening from a short nap by means of self-awakening for young participants. However, the effects...

The process of morning awakening is associated with a marked increase in cortisol secretion, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), as well as with a burst in cardiovascular (CV) activation. Whilst the CAR is largely driven by awakening-induced activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, it is fine-tuned by direct sympathetic input to the adrenal gland. In parallel, awakening-induced act...

Self-awakening is the ability to awaken without external assistance at a predetermined time. Cross-sectional studies reported that people who self-awaken have sleep/wake habits different from those of people who use external means to wake from sleep. However, no longitudinal study has examined self-awakening. The present study investigated self- awakening, both habitual and inconsistent, compar...

The effects of night-time exposure to traffic noise (TN) or low frequency noise (LFN) on the cortisol awakening response and subjective sleep quality were determined. Twelve male subjects slept for five consecutive nights in a noise-sleep laboratory. After one night of acclimatisation and one reference night, subjects were exposed to either TN (35dB L(Aeq), 50dB L(Amax)) or LFN (40dB L(Aeq)) on...

Altered sleep patterns are prominent in the majority of psychiatric disorders. This article examines the psychiatric disorders that are most often associated to sleep dysfunction as it is related in clinical practice and describes the polysomnographic findings. Patient's main complaints are related to difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep (initial or middle insomnia, respectively) and ...

The current study focuses on autonomic nervous system activity during sleep as a physiological aspect of sleep quality, and investigated the associations between the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and autonomic activity during sleep and after awakening. Ambulatory electrocardiograms were obtained from 20 participants, who also provided saliva samples (at the time of awakening, and 30, 45, an...

In most healthy people morning awakening is associated with a burst of cortisol secretion: the cortisol awakening response (CAR). It is argued that the CAR is subject to a range physiological regulatory influences that facilitate this rapid increase in cortisol secretion. Evidence is presented for reduced adrenal sensitivity to rising levels of ACTH in the pre-awakening period, mediated by an e...