Characterising non-linear dynamics in nocturnal breathing patterns of healthy infants using recurrence quantification analysis

Breathing dynamics vary between infant sleep states, and are likely to exhibit non-linear behaviour. This study applied the non-linear analytical tool recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to 400 breath interval periods of REM and N-REM sleep, and then using an overlapping moving window. The RQA variables were different between sleep states, with REM radius 150% greater than N-REM radius, and REM laminarity 79% greater than N-REM laminarity. RQA allowed the observation of temporal variations in non-linear breathing dynamics across a night's sleep at 30 s resolution, and provides a basis for quantifying changes in complex breathing dynamics with physiology and pathology.