Effects of Different Types of Verbal Activities on Heart Rate Variability

Ping Shi, Youfang Fang, Hongliu Yu

School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.

DOI: 10.4236/eng.2013.510B063                

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of different types of verbal activities on heart rate variability (HRV) were investigated. ECG signals were recorded in ten volunteers during resting (R), reading silently (RS), reading aloud (RA) and talking freely (TF). Time domain, frequency domain and Poincaré plot measures of HRV were calculated for analyzing. Time domain parameter of pNN50, frequency domain parameter of LF (n.u.) and Poincaré plot parameter of SD1/SD2 were found statistically difference in RA and TF compared to R and RS. The results in this study show that HRV decreased while subjects were reading aloud and talking freely. The results also indicated that verbal activities of reading aloud and talking freely improve the sympathetic nervous activity.

Keywords

Verbal Activities; Heart Rate Variability; Time Domain Analysis; Frequency Domain Analysis; Poincaré Plot Parameters

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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