Disruption of normal gastric myoelectric functioning by sleep

Study Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of sleep on gastric myoelectric activity as measured by electrogastrography in healt hy individuals. The goal was to elucidate the role of central influences in the regulation of normal gastric functioning. Design: Electrograstrogram (EGG) was recorded during polysomnographically m onitored waking and sleep. Setting: Sleep laboratory. Participants: 17 healthy volunteers. Measurements and Results: EGG parameters were computed for 20-minute segmen ts of pre-sleep waking, stage 2 sleep, stage 4 sleep, and REM sleep using b oth overall and running spectral analysis of EGG data. The dominant power d ecreased significantly from waking (31.4 +/- 1.4 dB) to all sleep stages (2 3.1 +/- 1.5 dB during stage 2; 24.7 +/- 1.4 dB during stage 4; 24.3 +/- 1.3 dB during REM sleep). The percentage of 2-4cpm activity decreased signific antly during NREM sleep (64.6 +/- 7.6% during stage 2 sleep; 57.5 +/- 5.5% during stage 4 sleep) compared to its waking value (90.8 +/- 3.2%), but not compared to REM sleep (74.1 +/- 5.4%). The instability coefficient of the dominant frequency increased significantly from waking (0.19 +/- 0.03) to a ll sleep stages (0.36 +/- 0.05 during stage 2 sleep; 0.47 +/- 0.05 during s tage 4; 0.34 +/- 0.05 during REM sleep). No significant differences between the sleep stages were found for any measure. Conclusions: Sleep is associated with increases in gastric dysrhythmia and instability of the gastric slow wave frequency when compared to waking. The se findings suggest that the intrinsic electrical activity of the stomach i s significantly influenced by central nervous system mechanisms, and suppor t the notion of a brain-gut axis.