---
title: Does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly we enter REM sleep?
description: In one woman, sleep changed dramatically between the two halves of her menstrual cycle, particularly in how quickly she entered REM sleep.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/case-report-menstrual-related-very-short-rem-latency-in-a-healthy-normal-control-1994/
---

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- Does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly we enter REM sleep?

Case report, 1994

# Does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly we enter REM sleep?

In one woman, sleep changed dramatically between the two halves of her menstrual cycle, particularly in how quickly she entered REM sleep.

 Early or limited evidence

One healthy young woman with regular menstrual cycles

## What they did

One healthy woman without premenstrual complaints spent 2 consecutive nights sleeping in a lab: once during the first half of her cycle and once during the second half. Doctors measured her sleep patterns including how quickly she reached REM sleep and how much REM sleep she had.

## What they found

The time to reach REM sleep dropped from 62.5 minutes in the first half of her cycle to 4.0 minutes in the second half. The percentage of REM sleep increased. Very little deep sleep occurred in either phase.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle might affect REM sleep, but this is only one healthy woman who reported no daytime sleepiness. Much more research is needed.

62.5 minutes

time to REM sleep in first half of cycle

4.0 minutes

time to REM sleep in second half of cycle

## About the study

Original title Case report: menstrual-related very short REM latency in a healthy normal control Authors Armitage R, Yonkers KA Journal Sleep Year 1994 Study design Case report What was tested None - observational study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1093/sleep/17.4.345](https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/17.4.345)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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