Pulse spikes by 20-30bpm when I roll over - is this normal?

Hi everyone,

I've been worried for a long time that I might have problems with my sleep. I feel tired every day, and never really refreshed when I wake up.

I used a night-vision camera to record myself in my sleep to see if anything weird was going on, but I just seem to roll over a couple of times every hour. I then bought a CMS-50E pulse oximeter, to measure my pulse and SpO2 over night.

I synced up the video and the pulse data, and it showed that every time I roll over in my sleep, my pulse spikes by around 20-30bpm immediately afterwards (see the report below).

I'm fairly sure these aren't false positives - my pulse rises over the course of about a minute, and then slowly drops again. I also did a 'control' test - I recorded pulse oximetry data when I was lying awake in bed, and rolled over a few times (simulating what I do in my sleep), and there were no pulse spikes in the recorded data. This only seems to happen in my sleep.

Is it normal for my pulse to spike by this much when I roll over, or could this indicate an underlying sleep disorder?

In my opinion this is perfectly normal. Your "spike" only goes to <90.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... q-20057979

Any effort will raise your heart rate.
I like to wear a pulse-ox while walking; it is very revealing.

Holy wow,

Your charts look exactly like mine. My spikes are similar, my average heart rate is similar, and my low heart rates is also around 43.

Where you using your cpap for this night?

Any effort will raise your heart rate.

I realise that. This is why I tried to do a 'control' experiment, to see whether the effort of rolling over whilst awake would cause a sharp spike in my pulse - it did not. I don't know whether just being in a more rested state while asleep would cause more of a spike when rolling over though.

Holy wow,

Your charts look exactly like mine. My spikes are similar, my average heart rate is similar, and my low heart rates is also around 43.

Where you using your cpap for this night?

No, I don't have a CPAP machine, as I've never been diagnosed with a sleep disorder. Are my charts similar to yours with or without CPAP?

sick_and_tired wrote:

Any effort will raise your heart rate.

I realise that. This is why I tried to do a 'control' experiment, to see whether the effort of rolling over whilst awake would cause a sharp spike in my pulse - it did not. I don't know whether just being in a more rested state while asleep would cause more of a spike when rolling over though.

Holy wow,

Your charts look exactly like mine. My spikes are similar, my average heart rate is similar, and my low heart rates is also around 43.

Where you using your cpap for this night?

No, I don't have a CPAP machine, as I've never been diagnosed with a sleep disorder. Are my charts similar to yours with or without CPAP?

Your numbers are similar to mine with me using my ASV cpap. although my average oxygen level is usually around 95 compared to your 93.

here is an example of mine.

Heart rate looks normal. When you were awake at the beginning your rate was 70- mid 80's so waking up to a short spike to 90 from a resting rate of 50's doesn't seem to be a problem.

icipher wrote:Holy wow,

Your charts look exactly like mine. My spikes are similar, my average heart rate is similar, and my low heart rates is also around 43.

Where you using your cpap for this night?

You both look similar to about 80% of the population

Since you mention possibly having sleep issues, could it be your position changes were triggered by sleep apnea events that just weren't pronounced enough to cause serious desats? Could explain a bit more of a rise in pulse than when testing it while awake. Do you have more than one night of data to consider? I have no experience with oximeter reports. Just speaking in general.

sick_and_tired wrote:

Any effort will raise your heart rate.

I realise that. This is why I tried to do a 'control' experiment, to see whether the effort of rolling over whilst awake would cause a sharp spike in my pulse - it did not. I don't know whether just being in a more rested state while asleep would cause more of a spike when rolling over though.

your "control" experiment is lacking in control, unless you asleep when you were doing it.

big difference, lower heart rate while asleep, so you're waking up some to turn over... might be a big difference there.

kteague wrote:could it be your position changes were triggered by sleep apnea events that just weren't pronounced enough to cause serious desats?

This is my suspicion! I will ask the doctor whether I can be referred to a sleep clinic for a proper test.

kteague wrote:Do you have more than one night of data to consider?

Yes, I have recorded data for a few nights. Below is another example. I always observe sharp peaks in my pulse, and they always happen immediately after I roll over in my sleep.

sick_and_tired wrote:

kteague wrote:could it be your position changes were triggered by sleep apnea events that just weren't pronounced enough to cause serious desats?

This is my suspicion! I will ask the doctor whether I can be referred to a sleep clinic for a proper test.

kteague wrote:Do you have more than one night of data to consider?

Yes, I have recorded data for a few nights. Below is another example. I always observe sharp peaks in my pulse, and they always happen immediately after I roll over in my sleep.

I don't know what to say to you. Your oxygen levels look great. You have bradycardia, but that is common.

what are you concerned about?

I agree.

Your values are within normal range.

When your pulse spikes at night when you roll over, is there an adrenaline rush or do you have an "episode" of something not feeling like it should?

palerider wrote:

sick_and_tired wrote:

Any effort will raise your heart rate.

I realise that. This is why I tried to do a 'control' experiment, to see whether the effort of rolling over whilst awake would cause a sharp spike in my pulse - it did not. I don't know whether just being in a more rested state while asleep would cause more of a spike when rolling over though.

your "control" experiment is lacking in control, unless you asleep when you were doing it.

big difference, lower heart rate while asleep, so you're waking up some to turn over... might be a big difference there.

I agree with palerider, when I sleep with my pap running I litterly die, my heart has to beat faster when I wake up just to get me jumping in the mornings...

It is likely that the rate change is related to an arousal and not the effort of rolling over.
Here is a link to a post showing similar charts for me:

viewtopic/t106057/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1 ... 6#p1005146

The heart graph shows perfectly normal heart activity and isn't a worry from a cardiac standpoint.
Whether or not you have an apnea issue is a different question. You are certainly not having any desaturations that go to a troublesome range.

Not all, or in my case hardly any, apnea events lead to low SpO2 desaturations. But... They do lead to sleep disruptions.