Sex-specific effects of naturally shorter sleep on experimental pain perception

Abstract

Introduction: – Experimental sleep loss has been linked to sex-specific alterations in pain perception, with women exhibiting greater impairment in pain inhibition.Objectives: – This study investigated whether habitual short sleep (<6 hours) affects pain processing in a sex-dependent manner.Methods: – A total of 81 participants (44 self-reported shorter sleepers, 37 longer sleepers) completed a night of home-based EEG sleep monitoring, followed by next-day quantitative sensory testing. A General Linear Model assessed the effects of sleep duration (shorter vs. longer sleepers), sex (male vs. female), and their interaction on pain perception.Results: – A significant sleep × sex interaction (F ..