--- title: Does eating fewer calories affect sleep during the menstrual cycle? description: Yes. Eating 55% fewer calories disrupts sleep in healthy young women, especially in the late luteal phase when hormone levels are higher. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/caloric-restriction-the-menstrual-cycle-and-sleep-in-women-without-obesity-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does eating fewer calories affect sleep during the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2025 # Does eating fewer calories affect sleep during the menstrual cycle? Yes. Eating 55% fewer calories disrupts sleep in healthy young women, especially in the late luteal phase when hormone levels are higher. Early or limited evidence 17 healthy women without obesity, mean age 23.6 years ## What they did 17 healthy young women ate a normal diet and then a diet with 55% fewer calories in the early follicular phase of two menstrual cycles. Sleep was measured by actigraphy each night. Urine and blood hormones were tested daily and on day 5. ## What they found Eating fewer calories and menstrual cycle phase each independently disrupted sleep, with the worst sleep in the late luteal phase. Sleep efficiency was lower and women woke more often and for longer when eating less. Higher levels of the hormones progesterone and estrogen were also linked to worse sleep. Orexin (a hormone that promotes wakefulness) was higher and linked to more broken sleep. ## What it means for you Short-term calorie restriction disrupts sleep in young women, and this is worse during the luteal phase when hormones are higher. The study was small and only followed women for two cycles, so results may not apply to longer dieting or to other age groups. 17 healthy women 23.6 years mean age -55% energy availability reduction ## About the study Original title Caloric Restriction, the Menstrual Cycle, and Sleep in Women Without Obesity Authors Kim AE, Shekhar S, Hirsch KR et al. Journal The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism Year 2025 Study design Survey study What was tested 55% calorie restriction vs normal eating Read the paper [doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaf145](https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaf145) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) 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. ## Related studies Survey study, 2024 How much do Indonesian 9th graders know about PMS and what are their attitudes? Survey study, 2026 Does PMS affect how well young women sleep? Survey study, 2026 What patterns of mood changes and food cravings occur during the menstrual cycle in college students? Survey study, 2026 How do pre-menstrual symptoms affect the work and social life of young women? Survey study, 2021 What factors are related to premenstrual syndrome in high school students? Survey study, 2020 Do sleep and emotion regulation explain why depression is linked to worse premenstrual symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗