High Heartrate When Sleeping?

[SteveVII]

Hey guys, not sure if I am misinterpreting the sleep results, but is this saying my heart rate hit 90 bpm in the middle of the night? It's odd to see that, then a 41 resting (I don't see where/when I was at 41). Just wanted to see what you guys think. Thanks!

 

[surfacedude]

that seems really odd, right? 41 bpm at rest would fall into bradycardia territory, i think, and 91 while sleeping seems really high. that would feel like a racing heart if you were trying to sleep. the results must be wrong, but i'm reading them same as you.

 

[leo74]

The only explanation I could come up with is that maybe you had a nightmare without knowing it? You woke up 7 times which I think is quite a lot. A nightmare might explain a high pulse rate, your restring rate seems quite low though.

 

[garyhartaz]

I too have that high spike, not as long though, and then my resting is 48.

 

[surfacedude]

you both should see doctors. just kidding. maybe it's a software glitch--?

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Do you snore?

I was a medical sleep technician (polysomnographer) at Weill Cornell/NY Presbyterian.

High-heart rate during sleep can be due to 'nightmares' or, more commonly, sleep apnea. People often stop breathing during sleep due to blockages, either nasal, or throat, often due to weight issues and getting older. Once a person stops breathing, eventually they 'wake' and take a deep breath. During this time, the HR builds up and spikes. Most people are completely unaware that they do this, which is why they get a polysomnogram.

FWIW, 90 is not terrible as I have seen it go waaay higher than that (130s is easy). Prolonged high HR could also be to due to an undiagnosed tachycardia condition.

Or yes, it could be a glitch too. See if you snore a lot, as that is a good indicator.

 

[surfacedude]

Do you snore?

I was a medical sleep technician (polysomnographer) at Weill Cornell/NY Presbyterian.

High-heart rate during sleep can be due to 'nightmares' or, more commonly, sleep apnea. People often stop breathing during sleep due to blockages, either nasal, or throat, often due to weight issues and getting older. Once a person stops breathing, eventually they 'wake' and take a deep breath. During this time, the HR builds up and spikes. Most people are completely unaware that they do this, which is why they get a polysomnogram.

Or yes, it could be a glitch too. See if you snore a lot, as that is a good indicator.

how awesome would it be if you both found out you have a medical condition after one night of using the band? i hope nothing is wrong, obviously, but it would be awesome to catch and fix/treat what might otherwise have gone missed and untreated.

 

[RefractedPaladin]

I can second what Daniel is saying though I have never been a polysomnographer I do suffer from sleep apnea and have the same symptoms with my heart rate spiking.

 

[garyhartaz]

Do you snore?
Or yes, it could be a glitch too. See if you snore a lot, as that is a good indicator.

I snore, yes. But is a resting heart rate while sleeping in the 40's bad? I am curious to see what other Band wearers have for results. I have a comparison of my BodyMedia FIT band results vs. Microsoft Band in another thread here and IMHO, the results are quite different.

 

[garyhartaz]

how awesome would it be if you both found out you have a medical condition after one night of using the band? i hope nothing is wrong, obviously, but it would be awesome to catch and fix/treat what might otherwise have gone missed and untreated.

Oh great, another Internet diagnosis to worry about

 

[SteveVII]

Yeah, it will be interesting to see the results as time goes on. It looks like it wasnt tracking correctly imo. My resting heart rate 15 mins after exercising is in the mid 70s, so I would be shocked if this was truly my heart rate at night. Thanks for the info.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

I snore, yes. But is a resting heart rate while sleeping in the 40's bad? I am curious to see what other Band wearers have for results. I have a comparison of my BodyMedia FIT band results vs. Microsoft Band in another thread here and IMHO, the results are quite different.

Not sure if it is bad, it all depends. Maybe you are a hardcore runner who does a lot of cardio. Regardless, it is all about consistency. If you get same or similar results after a week's use, it may be worth getting checked out. Then again, if you do not have any symptoms e.g. poor sleep/always tired, etc. then most likely not something to worry about.

 

[bitwise]

^ i am kind enough to search in webmd your symptoms and guess what the diagnosis is?

i kid.

 

[Oliverspin]

Bing it.

 

[surfacedude]

I snore, yes. But is a resting heart rate while sleeping in the 40's bad? I am curious to see what other Band wearers have for results. I have a comparison of my BodyMedia FIT band results vs. Microsoft Band in another thread here and IMHO, the results are quite different.

i think it depends on the cause. the goods news is that if you or your doc are a little worried, your doc can give you what's called a holter (sp?) monitor to wear a couple of days. it's basically a portable ekg and measure your hearts activity like an ekg. in terms of reliability, those readings reach medical standards. painless and only a little bit of an inconvenience.

 

[TheZuneLune]

Sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, too.

 

[surfacedude]

So I did some experimenting today with the heart rate monitor and im finding that fit makes a huge difference. Earlier I thought I was getting pretty consistent reading by wearing the band loose or tighter, but now I think my initial impressions were wrong. So wrong that I'm taking my large band back to exchange it for a medium. Here's what I'm finding. When wearing the band at what I would call a comfortable looseness and watching the heart monitor, I got lots of acquiring notifications and several times I watched my heart rate skyrocket. It went from 58 to 120 at one point. In reality, my heart rate hasn't changed. Those spikes happened several times wearing the band at what I would call a comfortable yet loose or weak tension.

Next I tightened the band just tight enough to wear it felt like it was actively grabbing my wrist, if that makes since. Like this the reading stayed locked for 30 seconds or more at a time and you go from acquiring to locked very quickly. There were no HR spikes and the readings seemed truer.

So...I think fit makes a big difference and a good fit seems to be snug, nut not tight. To get this fit with the large on my wrist, I have to tighten it all the way down. I bought the large because the salesperson said choose the one that was most comfortable to me and a large about three or four clicks from fully tightened was comfortable...nnot floppy loose, but not hugging me either. Turns out the hug seems to be better for the sensors.

 

[crelim]

I was a medical sleep technician (polysomnographer) at Weill Cornell/NY Presbyterian.

Sweet! It is awesome how sleep+HR data is being used for diagnosis! Technology for the win!

 

[crelim]

I snore, yes. But is a resting heart rate while sleeping in the 40's bad? I am curious to see what other Band wearers have for results. I have a comparison of my BodyMedia FIT band results vs. Microsoft Band in another thread here and IMHO, the results are quite different.

Just saw this interesting article about HR during sleep. Supposedly it does run low while sleeping and is normal.

A slow rate is particularly common among active people such as athletes. Many people are "just born with" a slow heart rate. There is not necessarily anything wrong with having a rate less than 60 beats per minute. In fact, most people's heart rate goes lower than 60, and may even go as low as 30-40 beats per minute, when they sleep. Physical activities or emotional excitement, typically cause rates greater than 100.

Source: HeartPoint: Specific Arrhythmias

Also, this paper titled "Changes in respiration, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure in human sleep" has ranges of 34-42 during I-REM sleep (Table 3).
http://jap.physiology.org/content/19/3/417.full-text.pdf+html

 

[stephen_az]

Hey guys, not sure if I am misinterpreting the sleep results, but is this saying my heart rate hit 90 bpm in the middle of the night? It's odd to see that, then a 41 resting (I don't see where/when I was at 41). Just wanted to see what you guys think. Thanks!

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I would really suggest not asking for heart rate advice in an internet forum. It could be as simple as a defective unit or loose fitting band making an irregular connection, but (if not) they are numbers to report to your doctor, not here. The same thing with only a couple hours of restful sleep and multiple wake up events. If the device is working correctly, you bought it to track your health and it is telling you things to which you should pay attention.