Study, 1985
Does progesterone affect sleep or breathing during different parts of the menstrual cycle?
No clear difference. Although progesterone levels change significantly across the cycle, sleep and breathing did not change significantly with these changes in progesterone.
Early or limited evidence 11 normal menstruating women
What they did
Sleep, breathing, and hormone levels were measured in 11 women during times when progesterone was high and during times when progesterone was low.
What they found
No significant changes were found in sleep or breathing even though progesterone levels changed significantly across the menstrual cycle.
What it means for you
Even though progesterone has been thought to protect women from sleep breathing problems, this study did not find that progesterone affects breathing during sleep. The study is very small with only 11 women and measured only at two timepoints.
11
women studied
2
timepoints measured
About the study
- Original title
- Progesterone levels and sleep-related breathing during menstrual cycles of normal women
- Authors
- Stahl ML, Orr WC, Males JL
- Journal
- Sleep
- Year
- 1985
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- None (observation only)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1093/sleep/8.3.227