ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2016
Sex differences in sleep: impact of biological sex and sex steroids.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 289 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
289 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 542 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sleep Quality and Its Determinants Among Patients With Chronic Diseases in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.BioMed research international · 2025Pooled it
- A network meta-analysis of acupuncture therapy for female insomnia and negative emotions from the perspective of the perimenopausal window.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- The effectiveness of exercise interventions targeting sleep in older adults with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD): A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of sleep research · 2024Pooled it
- Is exposure to chemical pollutants associated with sleep outcomes? A systematic review.Sleep medicine reviews · 2023Pooled it
- The Influence of 25- and 90-Min Afternoon Nap Opportunities on Subsequent Nighttime Sleep in Student Athletes.Journal of sleep research · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Chronic exposure to artificial light at night dampens rhythms in locomotor activity, metabolism, and sleep in female mice.Physiology & behavior · 2026Article
- What do we know about the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in women? A review of the evidence.Sleep medicine reviews · 2026Review
- Maladaptive coping strategies mediate the relationship between perceived differential treatment and sleep health among women.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- A male-biased hypothalamic circuit modulates postmating sleep suppression in mice.Science advances · 2026Article
- Sleep quality is associated with default mode and salience network connectivity differently across age and sex.Neurobiology of aging · 2026Article
- Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Alleviate Age-Related Insomnia in Rats by Suppressing Neuronal Ferroptosis in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Expert consensus on osteoporosis risk management in patients with sleep disorders.Bone research · 2026Review
- Association between weekend catch-up sleep and stroke among US adults: A cross-sectional analysis of NHANES.Medicine · 2026Article
- Nighttime sleep, midday napping, and mortality in Chinese older adults: A China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study longitudinal cohort study.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Observational
- Associations of starchy and non-starchy vegetable intake with depression, anxiety, stress, chronotype, and sleep quality among iranian women with overweight or obesity: a cross-sectional study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Identifying druggable proteins of the association of chronotype on breast cancer using Mendelian randomization.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in the Associations of mental Health, Suicidality, Screentime, and Sleep: A Mediation Effect Analysis of Sleep Using Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey 2021.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- Synergistic Impact of Sleep Disturbance and Social Isolation in Adult but Not Adolescent Female Mice.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Comparative Sleep Architecture Profiles of Antidepressants in Mice: Pharmacological Characterization of Paroxetine, Sertraline, Duloxetine, Mirtazapine and Vortioxetine.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
229 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Men and women sleep differently. While much is known about the mechanisms that drive sleep, the reason for these sex differences in sleep behaviour is unknown and understudied. Historically, women and female animals are underrepresented in studies of sleep and its disorders. Nevertheless, there is a growing recognition of sex disparities in sleep and rhythm disorders. Women typically report poorer quality and more disrupted sleep across various stages of life. Findings from clinical and basic research studies strongly implicate a role for sex steroids in sleep modulation. Understanding how neuroendocrine mediators and sex differences influence sleep is central to advancing our understanding of sleep-related disorders. The investigation into sex differences and sex steroid modulation of sleep is in its infancy. Identifying the mechanisms underlying sex and gender differences in sleep will provide valuable insights leading to tailored therapeutics that benefit each sex. The goal of this review is to discuss our current understanding of how biological sex and sex steroids influence sleep behaviour from both the clinical and pre-clinical perspective.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.