Lab study, 2005
Do sleep patterns change during different phases of the menstrual cycle?
Sleep amount and quality stay similar throughout the menstrual cycle phases. However, the timing of sleep and activity may shift slightly at different cycle phases.
What they did
Twelve healthy women with regular menstrual cycles wore wrist activity monitors throughout one complete cycle. Sleep and activity patterns were tracked during four phases: menstrual (days 1-5), late follicular around ovulation (days 11-15), early-mid luteal (days 18-23), and late luteal (days 25-28).
What they found
Time to fall asleep showed a trend of being longer around ovulation (19 minutes) compared to early-mid luteal (9 minutes), but this was not a clear difference. The daily pattern of rest-activity rhythm was stronger during the menstrual phase compared to early-mid luteal. The timing of activity peaks occurred earlier in the early-mid luteal phase compared to late follicular. The average 24-hour rhythm length was 24.01 hours across all phases with no major changes.
What it means for you
The menstrual cycle may cause minor shifts in when women are active and rest during the day, but does not disrupt basic sleep pattern. For healthy women, sleep problems during the menstrual cycle are minimal. The main limitations are the very small sample size and that this only studied healthy women without sleep complaints or sleep disorders.
12
women studied
4
menstrual cycle phases monitored
24.01
average 24-hour rhythm length in hours
About the study
- Original title
- [Changes in circadian sleep-wake and rest-activity rhythms during different phases of menstrual cycle]
- Authors
- Liu HY, Bao AM, Zhou JN et al.
- Journal
- Sheng li xue bao : [Acta physiologica Sinica]
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Lab study
- Participants
- 12
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15968438/
Topics
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