The effect of sleep extension on metabolic and androgen parameters of healthy women with habitual short sleep duration: Pilot study

Aims: Sleep curtailment, a common behavior in modern societies, is associated with sig-nificant alterations in metabolic and endocrine profiles. This pilot study aimed to investigate the potential benefits of sleep extension, under real-life conditions, on insulin sensitivity, an-drogens, and leptin, in women with habitual short sleep duration. Methods: In a single-arm study design, healthy pre-menopausal women with ≤ 6 hours of daily sleep (n=10) were in-structed to increase their sleep duration by one hour daily for one month. Fasting blood sam-ples were obtained on days 2-3 of the menstrual cycle, at baseline, and after the intervention. Samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, leptin, total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate. Measurement of sleep duration was based on the participants' subjective reporting using sleep logs, and baseline data were compared to post-intervention. Results: Seven women completed the intervention and significantly in-creased their sleep duration by 40.7 ± 14 min (mean ± standard deviation). However, our pilot data did not indicate significant changes in any of the parameters assessed at the end of the intervention. Conclusion: The impact of sleep extension on various metabolic and androgen parameters in women requires further investigation with larger samples and more controlled designs.