Survey study, 2026
How does sleep change across the menstrual cycle in women with psychiatric conditions and suicidal thinking?
Sleep varies across the menstrual cycle in women with psychiatric conditions. These patterns align with changes in mood and suicidal thinking, with some women having worse sleep around their period or in the luteal phase. This suggests sleep monitoring may help identify higher-risk periods.
What they did
142 women (average age 26.59) in psychiatric care who had recent suicidal thinking tracked their sleep daily and wore devices to measure sleep objectively across 1 to 3 menstrual cycles. Researchers aligned measurements to ovulation and menstruation to track patterns across the cycle.
What they found
Most sleep measures showed cyclical changes across the menstrual cycle. Different groups of women had different patterns: some experienced worse sleep around their period or during the luteal phase, while others showed no cycle-related pattern. Sleep patterns closely matched mood symptoms and suicidal thinking patterns.
What it means for you
In women with psychiatric conditions, sleep may change with the menstrual cycle and these changes connect to mood and suicide risk. Monitoring sleep across the cycle could help identify times when women need more support. The findings need to be tested in larger groups to confirm.
142
women tracked sleep daily
39
wore sleep-tracking devices
26.59
average age in years
About the study
- Original title
- Characterizing Nonlinear Heterogeneous Sleep Trajectories across the Menstrual Cycle in a Transdiagnostic Psychiatric Population
- Authors
- Nagpal A, Patterson A, Ross A et al.
- Journal
- Sleep
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 142
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsag220
Topics
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