Sleep deprivation and endothelial function: reconciling seminal evidence with recent perspectives

Abstract

Sleep is critical for the maintenance of physiological homeostasis and, as such, inadequate sleep beckons a myriad of pathologies. Sleep deprivation is a growing health concern in contemporary society since short sleep durations are associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk and atherosclerotic plaque development. Vascular endothelial dysfunction is an antecedent to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Herein, we review seminal literature indicating short sleep durations attenuate endothelial function and explore more recent evidence indicating that sleep deprivation perturbs autonomic balance and the circadian rhythmicity of peripheral vascular clock components. We further examine literature that indicates a mechanistic link between short sleep and endothelial dysfunction and subsequent morbidity. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate endothelial function in the context of sleep deprivation facilitates the development and optimization of interventions, such as exercise, that mitigate the ramifications of inadequate sleep on vascular function and cardiovascular and health.

Gravity in the brain: how compressive ischemic changes in the weight-bearing brainstem autonomic nuclei may contribute to vascular endothelial dysfunction elsewhere in the body following sleep deprivation

“…In a recent issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, vascular pathophysiology investigators (1) have recently reported regarding their focused meta-analysis of previous research data relating sleep deprivation to vascular endothelial dysfunction-a relationship, which would be important, yet nonintuitive and unfamiliar, to many healthcare providers.…”

Gravity in the brain—how it may regulate skeletal muscle metabolism by balancing compressive ischemic changes in the weight‐bearing pituitary and hypothalamus

“…And vascular laboratory investigators (Cherubini et al, 2021) elsewhere, studying endothelial function, may also have something to add. They have spent the last decade establishing an association between sleep deprivation and endothelial dysfunction.…”

Short‐term sleep deprivation and human thermoregulatory function during thermal challenges

“…The response was attributable to a TSD-dependent microvascular endothelial dysfunction (for review, see Cherubini et al, 2021), characterized mainly by increased concentrations of endothelin 1 (a potent vasoconstrictor) and perhaps by reduced concentrations of nitric oxide (a potent vasodilator) (Sauvet et al, 2010(Sauvet et al, , 2012(Sauvet et al, , 2017. The lack of sleep, however, did not modify the incidence or the magnitude (i.e., onset and amplitude) of finger cold-induced vasodilatation (aka CIVD), which typically intervenes during cooling of the hands and/or feet (Keramidas et al, 2019) and, presumably, serves a cryoprotective function against cold injury (Wilson & Goldman, 1970).…”