The Effects of Night Shift Work on Health Across the Menstrual Cycle

Official title

The Effects of Night Shift Work on Health Across the Menstrual Cycle: a Pilot Study

Overview

The study aims to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on women's health across different phases of the menstrual cycle.

Detailed description

Modern society demands around-the-clock services, with an estimated 20% of workers involved in night shifts. Shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm and has been linked to increased risks of obesity, metabolic syndrome, glucose dysregulation, and immune system issues. Sleep deprivation, especially during wakeful nights, is associated with elevated levels of central nervous system biomarkers like Tau and Amyloid-β proteins, which are implicated in brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

However, the effects of sleep deprivation on women, particularly in relation to hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, remain largely unexplored. The menstrual cycle, which occurs in cis-women of childbearing age, involves significant fluctuations in estrogen, a hormone known for its neuroprotective properties. Estrogen impacts memory, executive function, and may play a role in protecting against neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have largely focused on men or women using hormonal contraceptives, leaving a gap in understanding how natural hormonal cycles impact the response to sleep deprivation.

This study addresses this gap by focusing on healthy young women with regular menstrual cycles who do not use hormonal contraceptives. Participants will undergo an adaptation night followed by a sleep condition and a wake condition experiment. The goal is to better understand how hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle influence the body's response to sleep deprivation and stress, particularly in areas such as metabolism, brain function, and immune, system, and microbiota.

Interventions

• Other Investigate sleep deprivation
  Sleep deprivation Devices used: Dreem band for EEG Actiheart Tobii Eye tracker Blood glucose monitor Blood pressure cuff Mira fertility tracker Galvanic skin response K5: wearable metabolic system Fitbit: wearable technology Withings sleep analyzer Body composition monitor

Primary outcome measures

• The effect of sleep deprivation vs sleep on brain health across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 1 year]
• The effects of sleep deprivation across the menstrual cycle on EEG [Time frame: 1 year]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on metabolic function (TEE) [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on glucose metabolism [Time frame: 1 year]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on leptin/adiponectin ratio [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on vaginal microbiota identification across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on vaginal microbiota classification across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effects of sleep deprivation on vaginal microbiota across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effect of sleep deprivation on stress response across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 2 years]
• The effect of sleep deprivation on stress response across the menstrual cycle [Time frame: 2 years]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

\- Healthy

Exclusion criteria

• Use of hormonal contraceptives
• Chronic disease
• Regular use of nicotine
• Use of medication
• Consumes excessive amounts of alcohol or coffee

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Health services research

Study locations

Sweden · 1 center

• Uppsala University — Uppsala

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06683248 · 2021-04191

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗