Chin-Moi Chow

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at The University of Sydney

Highlights What are the main findings? MotionWatch8 overestimated TST and SE while it underestimated SOL and WASO. MotionWatch8 showed high sensitivity for sleep detection (94.8%) but low specificity for wake detection (33.1%), with an overall accuracy of 87.3%. What is the implication of the main finding? MotionWatch8 may be less reliable for indi...

Sleepwear and bedding materials can affect sleep quality by influencing the skin and body temperature and thermal comfort. This review systematically evaluates the impact of sleepwear or bedding of different fibre types on sleep quality. A systematic search was conducted in six data bases plus Google Scholar and manual searches. Original articles t...

Two-piece mandibular advancement devices (MAD) are considered more comfortable than monoblock devices, and they are commonly used for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, they are not without limitations, especially in patients with nasal obstruction/malocclusion. Here, we discuss the case of a 37-year-old woman with mandibular...

The present study assessed the potential of lip muscle training for improving sleep. A patient with heavy snoring, daytime sleepiness and dry mouth underwent lip muscle training. Lip closure force LCFmax increased by 67.3% and LCFmin by 152% post-training. AHI decreased from 12.2 to 3.9 events/h by reducing hypopneic episodes. TST, sleep stage N3 a...

The narrative review was planned to qualitatively analyse the experiences, factors and context of parents screening positive for perinatal depression in Karachi. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the experiences and perceptions of participants during pregnancy, birth and 10-12 weeks after birth. Seven men and 20 women pa...

Expertise consultation for the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2022-2023

This paper examined why sleep hygiene practices work in some cases and not in others with a focus on non-clinical population. Sleep hygiene rules target lifestyle and environmental factors. Changing sleep-wake routines, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, bright light, and vigorous exercise near bedtime, and improving the sleeping environment (making it da...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may contribute to poor sleep quality. This study assessed subjective sleep quality, the Respiratory Event Index (REI), reaction times, and the therapeutic effects of a custom-made mandibular advancement device (MAD) in male Japanese elite rugby athletes. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Sca...

Paternal postnatal depression is an emerging public health concern, with negative outcomes for men, their partners, and the newborn. There is a dearth of data on paternal postnatal depression in lower‐middle‐income countries like Pakistan. This study aimed to identify risk factors of postnatal depression in Pakistani men. Men who consented to this...

Nasal obstruction requires close attention, as it is a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study evaluated airflow rates of our newly designed nasal breathing stent (NBS) compared with those of existing nasal dilators in 10 adult men. We hypothesized that the NBS would expand the nasal passage more than the other nasal dilators by m...

Objective: Sleep apnea is a common sleep breathing disorder that can significantly decrease sleep quality and have major health consequences. It is diagnosed based on the apnea hypopnea index (AHI). This study explored a novel, generalized algorithm for the automatic diagnosis of sleep apnea employing airflow (AF) and oximetry (SpO2) signals. App...

Introduction Vasomotor symptoms and sleep disturbances are common in menopausal women. Different fabric types affect thermal comfort through moisture absorption and thermal insulation. This study examined the impact of cotton and wool sleepwear on menopausal women’s sleep quality. Methods This is a randomized, crossover, repeated-measures and trip...

Objective To estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of perinatal depression in Pakistan. Methods We conducted a systematic search of Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Global health, up through May 31, 2019. Studies reporting on the prevalence of perinatal depression in Pakistan with or without associated risks factors were includ...

Objective: Sleep apnea significantly decreases the quality of life. The apnea hypopnea index (AHI) is the main indicator for sleep apnea diagnosis. This study explored a novel automatic algorithm to diagnose sleep apnea from nasal airflow (AF) and pulse oximetry (SpO2) signals. Approach: Of the 988 polysomnography (PSG) records from the Sleep He...

Oral appliances (OA), a common treatment modality for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), are not suitable for patients with nasal obstruction. Rhinomanometry, the gold standard technique to assess nasal airway resistance, is not readily available in sleep dentistry clinics. We demonstrate the use of a portable lightweight peak nasal inspiratory flow (P...

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that can significantly decrease the quality of life. An accurate and early diagnosis of sleep apnea is required before getting proper treatment. A reliable automated detection of sleep apnea can overcome the problems of manual diagnosis (scoring) due to variability in recording and scoring criteria (for exampl...

The processes of sleeping, eating and moving, in concert with cognition and learning, support health and life [...]

Avoiding food before bedtime is a widely accepted sleep hygiene practice, yet few studies have assessed meal timing as a risk factor for disrupted sleep. This study examined the relationship between evening meal timing and sleep quality in young adults. A total of N = 793 participants (26% male) aged between 18 and 29 years responded to an online s...

Sakamoto, A, Naito, H, and Chow, CM. Hyperventilation-aided recovery for extra repetitions on bench press and leg press. J Strength Cond Res 34(5): 1274-1284, 2020-Hyperventilation (HV)-induced alkalosis, an ergogenic strategy, improved repeated pedaling sprint performance through enhanced H removal. However, it did not confer beneficial effects on...

Consumption of kiwifruit (KF) 1 hr before bed improves sleep as measured by actigraphy (Lin, Tsai, Fang, & Liu, 2011). However the previous study does not provide evidence on how sleep architecture and biochemical measures may be affected. KF contain a protein named actinidin which is a protease enzyme involved in enhancing digestion of proteins in...

Background Sleep disturbance in adults with no health concerns is often linked to the thermal environment. This study assesses the impact on sleep quality of sleepwear made from fibers with different thermal insulation and hygral properties. This randomized cross-over study investigated the effects on sleep quality of sleepwear made from cotton, po...

Sleep apnea elicits brain and physiological changes and its duration varies across the night. This study investigates the changes in the relative powers in electroencephalogram (EEG) frequency bands before and at apnea termination and as a function of apnea duration. The analysis was performed on 30 sleep records (375 apnea events) of older adults...

The growing interest in preserving cognition through video games in the ageing population is evidenced by its wealth of literature. However, there has been a lack of consensus on video games efficacy and even limited understanding on the factors moderating its effectiveness. The present review sought to evaluate video game effects, relative to no-g...

Introduction: Studies of cerebral haemodynamics have shown changes with increased exercise intensity, but the patterns have been highly variable and reliable associations with cognitive performance have not been identified. The aim of this study was to examine whether exercise-induced changes in oxygenated haemoglobin (O2Hb) led to changes in conc...

Objective: Sleep apnea (SA), a common sleep disorder, can significantly decrease the quality of life, and is closely associated with major health risks such as cardiovascular disease, sudden death, depression, and hypertension. The normal diagnostic process of SA using polysomnography is costly and time consuming. In addition, the accuracy of diff...

Background: Ballistic training with projectile motions has proven to be more effective in improving power compared to the conventional resistance training without projectile motions. This is based on the fact that projectile motions minimize the deceleration of lifting required near the end of each concentric phase for the phase transition, allowin...

Accurate relative humidity (RH) measurement is demanded in studies of thermal comfort. Thermal discomfort occurs when the near-to-skin temperature or RH is outside of the thermal comfort zone. The Hygrochron, a small wireless device which measures both temperature and RH, would be suitable and convenient in exercise or sleep studies. However, the R...

Background: Individuals with depression differ in their sleep patterns from healthy subjects. However, there are no studies that compare the temporal sleep patterns between healthy and depressed people or explore the relations between depressive symptomatology and physical activity levels. This study is an attempt to address this gap. Method: Parti...

Previously, hyperventilation (HV) induced respiratory alkalosis, implemented during the last 30-s of each 60-s recovery that separated repeated pedaling sprints, has been shown to attenuate performance decrement. The present study investigated whether the ergogenic effects of HV would hold if the HV duration was shortened or extended. Seventeen pow...

Tryptophan loading enhances sleep quality by increasing the ratio of plasma tryptophan to large neutral amino acids (TRP:LNAA) and consequently synthesis and availability of serotonin in the brain. Alpha-lactalbulmin (A-LAC) is rich in tryptophan and has the highest TRP:LNAA of all protein sources. This pilot study investigated the effect of an eve...

Aims: To provide an overview of preliminary findings from the longitudinal ARCHER (Adolescent Rural Cohort study of Hormones, Health, Education, Environments and Relationships) study of rural adolescent health. Methods: The ARCHER study is a three-year multidisciplinary longitudinal rural study of adolescents (recruited at 9 to 14 years) from two r...

Actigraphy is increasingly used for sleep monitoring. However, there is a lack of standardized methodology for data processing and analysis, which often makes between study comparisons difficult, if not impossible, and thus open to flawed interpretation. This study evaluated a manual method for detection of the rest interval in actigraph data colle...

The fibers used in clothing and bedding have different thermal properties. This study aimed to investigate the influences of textile fabrics on sleep under different ambient temperature (Ta) conditions. Seventeen healthy young participants (ten males) underwent nine nights of polysomnography testing including an adaptation night. Participants were...

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between ventilatory adaptation and performance during altitude training at 2700 m. Methods: Seven elite cyclists (age: 21.2 ± 1.1 yr, body mass: 69.9 ± 5.6 kg, height 176.3 ± 4.9 cm) participated in this study. A hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) test and a submaximal exercise test were...

p> Background: Depression is associated with prolonged disability, mortality, and morbidity. Ninety percent of patients with Major depressive disorder (MDD) have sleep problems. Light therapy has been shown to be effective in treating sleep disorders and MDD. This review aims to assess the characteristics (colour, intensity), exposure dose (duratio...

Background: During intermittent high-intensity exercise, the accumulation of hydrogen ions or the resulting fall in intramuscular pH has been considered a major factor contributing to muscle fatigue. Our recent study has shown that reversing the acidic muscle milieu by means of hyperventilation (HV)-induced respiratory alkalosis, implemented during...

There were no validation studies on portable sleep devices under different ambient temperature, thus this study evaluated the validity of wrist Actiwatch2 (AW2) or SenseWear armband (SWA) against polysomnography (PSG) in different ambient temperatures. Nine healthy young participants (6 males, aged 23.3±4.1 y) underwent nine nights of study at ambi...

Hyperventilation, implemented during recovery of repeated maximal sprints, has been shown to attenuate performance decrement. This study evaluated the effects of hyperventilation, using strength exercises, on muscle torque output and EMG amplitude. Fifteen power-trained athletes underwent maximal isokinetic knee extensions consisting of 12 repetiti...

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine whether a high--volume compared to a low--volume whole--body resistance exercise session acutely impairs lung function. Methods: Fifteen competitive male bodybuilders (age 27.4 ± 5.4 y; body mass 89.7 ± 12.8 kg; stature 177.9 ± 4.8 cm), in a crossover trial, completed two resistance training protocol...

Purpose: In athletes, caffeine use is common although its effects on sleep have not been widely studied. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial investigated the effects of late-afternoon caffeine and carbohydrate-electrolyte (CEB) co-ingestion on cycling performance and nocturnal sleep. Methods: Six male cyclists/triat...

An Arabic version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire was developed and validated through a translation process with cross-cultural considerations. The translated questionnaire was evaluated for reliability and validity. A Principal Components Analysis was conducted following assessment of the suitability of data for factor analysis. Compo...

Repeated high intensity sprints incur substantial anaerobic metabolic challenges and create an acidic muscle milieu that is unfavorable for subsequent performance. Hyperventilation, resulting in respiratory alkalosis, acts as a compensatory mechanism for metabolic acidosis. This study tested the hypothesis that hyperventilation performed during rec...

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between work-related stress, cortisol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in predicting metabolic syndrome (MtS). Self-reported work stress measured by the effort reward imbalance ratio (ERI), anthropometric data, CRP, and saliva cortisol were collected from 204 healthy Jordanian male workers. ERI and...

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the respiratory muscle and lung function measures of bodybuilders (BB) and endurance athletes (EA). Methods: Forty-two male subjects (22 BB and 20 EA) aged 20-35 years underwent respiratory muscle strength measurements (MIP and MEP), lung function testing (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC%, IC, ERV, FRC, RV, and...

The sleep-wake cycle is a process not only dictated by homeostatic and circadian factors but also by social and environmental influences. Thus, the total sleep time partly reflects sleep need, which is integral to the dynamics of sleep loss recovery. This study explored the nature of the observed oscillations in total sleep time in healthy adults u...

This randomized, placebo-exercise controlled trial found that 6-months of Kung Fu training improved enjoyment of physical activity more than the placebo-exercise intervention, while both groups improved perceptions of behavioral conduct and changed strategies for physical activity. Importantly, family support for physical activity declined in subje...

During resistance exercise, a brief Valsalva maneuver (VM) is unavoidable when lifting heavy loads (>80% of maximal voluntary contraction) or when lifting lighter loads to failure. It has been proposed that the performance of the VM during resistance exercise increases the stability of the spine due to augmented intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). Howe...

Abstract Exercise has been recommended for enhancing sleep; a claim linked to the belief that sleep need - defined by sleep duration and depth - is increased post-exercise to allow tissue recovery. Objective studies investigating exercise-sleep responses have produced mixed outcomes, and the disparity in results between studies may be due to differ...

Digital game playing engages people for long periods of time. The pleasure offered by digital games may explain the players' consumption of this activity. Games may elicit both positive and negative emotions, which can be measured by encephalography (EEG). The EEG alpha asymmetry index (AI) is different in positive and negative emotions and so may...

Bodybuilding involves performing a series of poses on stage where the competitor is judged on aesthetic muscular appearance. The purpose of this study was to describe training practices and ergogenic aids used by competitive bodybuilders, and to determine whether training practices comply with current recommendations for muscular hypertrophy. A web...

Background Adolescence is characterized by marked psychosocial, behavioural and biological changes and represents a critical life transition through which adult health and well-being are established. Substantial research confirms the role of psycho-social and environmental influences on this transition, but objective research examining the role of...

Abstract In this study, we examined the validity of a novel subjective scale for assessing resistance-exercise effort. Seventeen male bodybuilders performed five sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of one-repetition maximum, for the bench press and squat. At the completion of each set, participants quantified their effort via the rating of perceived exer...

This study investigated the effect of a high-volume compared to a low-volume resistance training session on maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). Twenty male subjects with resistance training experience (6.2 ± 3.2 y), in a crossover trial, completed two resistance training protocols (high-volume: 5 sets per exerc...

The study aimed to establish the association of work stress, expressed as effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in 152 healthy Jordanian male employees. Self-report work stress, anthropometric data, and blood for CRP analysis were collected. A significant correlation between ERI and CRP (r = 0.29, p < .01), and between waist c...

To evaluate the effect of high and low glycaemic index drinks on children's sleep pattern. Eight children underwent 3 nights of full polysomnography study, one familiarization and two test nights consecutively. On the test nights, 1 hour before bedtime, the children had a milk drink of either low or high GI in a random order. The glycaemic loads (G...

The purpose of the present study was to determine the influence of the glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) on the ratio of tryptophan (TRP) relative to other large neutral amino acids (LNAA). Ten healthy men (age 22·9 (sd 3·4) years; BMI 23·5 (sd 1·6) kg/m2) underwent standard GI testing, and later consumed each of a mixed-macronutrient (1...

Feeding and sleeping follow a circadian pattern that synchronizes with the light–dark cycle. Both are essential physiological processes without which life ceases. Remarkably, the two processes interact reciprocally and disturbance to either has poor health outcomes. Feeding enables macronutrients to reach the body for nourishment. It is the macronu...

Evidence in healthy sleepers suggests the glycemic index (GI) can mediate changes in sleep onset latency, given the availability of tryptophan to the brain (i.e. TRP/LNAA ratio) is increased after high GI carbohydrate-only food. However, these meals have limited clinical application given the high glycemic load (GL) and insulin responses. Therefore...

The use of daytime napping as a recovery tool following exercise is virtually unexplored. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of daytime nap sleep following endurance training in an athletic population, and to appraise the optimal circadian timing of the nap and the time interval between training and the nap. Six physically traine...

Aim. To examine the efficacy of a six-month Kung Fu (KF) program on physical fitness in overweight/obese adolescents. Methods. Subjects were randomly assigned to the KF or sham exercise (Tai Chi, TC) control group. Physical measurements in cardiovascular fitness and muscle fitness occurred at baseline and after 6 months of training thrice weekly. R...

Abdominal obesity is an increasing problem in adolescents, often persisting into adulthood. Reliable assessment has been restricted to techniques limited by relatively high radiation doses or cost. To investigate the reliability of several abdominal regions using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and to assess the construct validity of these...

The low carbohydrate, high-fat, high-protein Dr Atkins weight-reduction diet is popular worldwide. In addition to evidence of short-term efficacy for weight reduction, there are consistently reported side effects including constipation, halitosis, headache and fatigue. We examined the effect of the Atkins diet compared to a control mixed diet on sl...

Physiotherapists propose that the use of manual hyperinflation in intubated patients reverses atelectasis and improves gas exchange. However, it is unclear whether physiotherapists apply the appropriate tidal volume and airway pressure required to achieve these benefits. The aims of this study were to measure and describe quantitatively the techniq...

Twenty overweight/obese adolescents underwent six months of Kung Fu or placebo (Tai Chi) training, 3x.wk(-1). Outcomes included fasting insulin and insulin resistance, lipids, glucose and HbA(1c), and C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP decreased significantly (p = 0.03) in both groups over time at six months. Although insulin sensitivity did not change,...

The purpose of the study was to investigate if Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu, KF) might be effective for improving body composition, as well as being an appealing form of physical activity for inexperienced, sedentary, overweight/obese adolescents. Twenty subjects (age: 13.3±1.8 y; BMI percentile: 98.6(86.5 - 99.8); 60% girls) were randomly-assigne...

Endurance athletes, at the elite level, employ various training strategies in order to induce sufficient physiological adaptive changes to maximize performance. Altitude training, in the form of intermittent exposure to hypoxia, particularly the Live-High Train-Low (LH-TL) strategy, proves to be effective and has become widespread among these athle...

Obstructive sleep apnea often results in a wide range of comorbid conditions. Although some conditions have been clearly identified as comorbid, a full clinical pattern of associated diseases has not been systematically documented. This research aimed to reveal the full pattern of comorbid conditions associated with OSA by employing a data mining t...

Despite advances in medical therapy, sleep disordered breathing (SDB) remains highly prevalent in chronic heart failure (CHF). The impact of severity of SDB on sympathovagal balance, central hemodynamic responses and cardiopulmonary functional status in these patients is uncertain. Thirteen patients with stable CHF (mean age+/-10 years; 12 NYHA Cla...

The Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu) have existed for centuries and are generally accepted as being beneficial for health without much empirical data. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the health effects of "hard" Kung Fu styles by performing electronic and manual searches of the literature. The aspects of health and the Kung Fu style e...

We compared the effect of short-term consumption of a very low carbohydrate (VLC) diet over 48 h to a control mixed diet on sleep indices in healthy, non-obese men. This study employed a repeated-measure design where subjects were given isocaloric (2400 kcal) diets and matching evening test meals (4 h before usual bed-time), which were either mixed...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of mechanical ventilation (MV) on inherent breathing and on dorsal brainstem nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) respiratory cell function. In pentobarbitone-anaesthetised rats, application of MV at combined high frequencies and volumes (representing threshold levels) produced apnea. The apnea persis...

In Nembutal anaesthetised, spontaneously breathing rats, stereotaxic mapping of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) for respiratory neuronal activity was undertaken. Eight different types of respiratory cells were found between 0.25 and 1.5 mm lateral to midline, extending 0.5 mm caudal to 1.5 mm rostral to obex, and 0.4-1.5 mm below the dorsal su...

Dietary carbohydrate intake has been shown to increase the plasma concentration of tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin and sleep-inducing agent. To investigate the role of carbohydrate in sleep induction, we explored the effect of glycemic index (GI) and meal time on sleep in healthy volunteers. We compared the effect of high- and low-GI carbohydr...

Does a modified postural drainage position (horizontal) produce less cardiovascular and respiratory stress than a head-down postural drainage position (30 degrees) in people with severe heart disease? A quasi-experimental study. Thirty-one patients (mean age 69 years, SD 13) with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (mean ejection fraction...

Hypoxia and exercise each modulate muscle Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity. We investigated the effects on muscle Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity of only 5 nights of live high, train low hypoxia (LHTL), 20 nights consecutive (LHTLc) versus intermittent LHTL (LHTLi), and acute sprint exercise. Thirty-three athletes were assigned to control (CON, n = 11), 20-ni...

Employees with sleep disturbance are at increased risk of disease. Exercise is believed to be effective for improving sleep quality, but few studies have been conducted. This study investigated the effects of a 24-week worksite exercise/behavioral intervention on self-rated sleep quality, via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), in 73 employe...

Overweight and physical inactivity are risk factors for increased disease burden and health care expenditure. Well-designed studies are still needed to determine the treatment efficacy of worksite interventions targeting such risk factors. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one of Australia's casinos in 2002-2003, to investigate the...

At high altitudes, the clinically defined respiratory disturbance index (RDI) and high hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) have been associated with diminished sleep quality. Increased RDI has also been observed in some athletes sleeping at simulated moderate altitude. In this study, we investigated relationships between the HVR of 14 trained male e...

A popular method to attempt to enhance performance is for athletes to sleep at natural or simulated moderate altitude (SMA) when training daily near sea level. Based on our previous observation of periodic breathing in athletes sleeping at SMA, we hypothesised that athletes' sleep quality would also suffer with hypoxia. Using two typical protocols...