REM sleep cardiac arrhythmias

The word arrhythmia means irregular heartbeat. Heart beats are not voluntarily controlled by human beings, but by the autonomic nervous system. In layman’s terms the body goes on autopilot when we fall asleep.

Sleep is divided into two stages – Non-REM and REM. REM means Rapid Eye Movement. REM sleep occurs when we dream and this phase is cyclical in nature, coming after every one and a half hours. During REM sleep it is perfectly natural and common for the heart to “miss a beat” for about two seconds. Such misses only reflect the shifting of gears by the body (known as changes in autonomic tone in medical jargon) and are perfectly normal and natural occurrences.

However, if cardiac arrhythmia occurs primarily due to breathing disorders during sleep (referred to as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea by doctors) then it might become serious and may lead to even death due to congestive heart failure or sudden infant death.

The external symptoms of OSA are loud snoring during the night and drowsiness during the day. Generally OSA is common to almost all of us, and does not warrant urgent medical attention. Usually fat men with thick necks who sleep on their backs are those who snore the loudest and are susceptible to OSA.

The most commonly used procedure to reduce OSA is putting on a breathing mask to maintain a consistent air pressure in the nasal channel. This device is known as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). If the heart still beats irregularly during sleep then the reason might be related to certain impairments of the heart and may not have any connection with sleep at all.

Sleep Disorders

Dyssomnias

Parsomnias

Insomnia Medications