Boneva, Roumiana S, Decker, Michael J, Maloney, Elizabeth M et al. · Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical · 2007 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS have a faster heart rate and less heart rate variability (natural changes in heartbeat speed) during sleep compared to healthy people. These differences suggest that the nervous system in ME/CFS patients stays more activated even during sleep, which may be related to chemical imbalances in the body.
This study provides objective physiological evidence that ANS dysfunction in ME/CFS persists during sleep, not just during wakefulness, supporting the hypothesis that abnormal autonomic regulation is a core feature of the disease. Understanding these sleep-specific changes may lead to targeted interventions and validates the autonomic dysfunction pathway as a potential therapeutic target.
This study does not establish causation—it shows correlation between HRV/HR patterns and ME/CFS but does not prove whether autonomic dysfunction causes CFS symptoms or results from them. The study also does not explain the underlying mechanism of sympathetic predominance or identify whether these ANS changes are reversible with treatment.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Boneva, Roumiana S, Decker, Michael J, Maloney, Elizabeth M, Lin, Jin-Mann, Jones, James F, Helgason, Helgi G, et al. (2007). Higher heart rate and reduced heart rate variability persist during sleep in chronic fatigue syndrome: a population-based study.. Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autneu.2007.08.002
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-boneva-2007-higher-heart,
author = {Boneva, Roumiana S and Decker, Michael J and Maloney, Elizabeth M and Lin, Jin-Mann and Jones, James F and Helgason, Helgi G and Heim, Christine M and Rye, David B and Reeves, William C},
title = {Higher heart rate and reduced heart rate variability persist during sleep in chronic fatigue syndrome: a population-based study.},
journal = {Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1016/j.autneu.2007.08.002},
note = {PubMed: 17851136},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/boneva-2007-higher-heart},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/boneva-2007-higher-heart
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