Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34211008›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Gender differences in BaYaka forager sleep-wake patterns in forest and village contexts.

Erica Kilius, David R Samson, Sheina Lew-Levy, Mallika S Sarma, Ujas A Patel, Yann R Ouamba, Valchy Miegakanda, Lee T Gettler, Adam H Boyette

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Assessing Sleep Architecture in Rural Eastern Cape Villagers of South Africa Using ŌURA Ring Data.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Low-to-Moderate Daytime Physical Activities Predicted Higher-Quality Sleep Among Habitually Active Agropastoralists.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.

Erica KiliusDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, L5L1C6, Canada. erica.kilius@mail.utoronto.ca.
David R SamsonDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, L5L1C6, Canada. david.samson@utoronto.ca.
Sheina Lew-LevyDepartment of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, V5A1S6, Canada.
Mallika S SarmaSchool of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21287, USA.
Ujas A PatelDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, L5L1C6, Canada.
Yann R OuambaEcole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et de Foresterie, Université Marien N'Gouabi, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Valchy MiegakandaLaboratoire National de Santé Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Lee T GettlerDepartment of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 46556, USA.
Adam H BoyetteDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
University of Toronto · CAAarhus University · DKJohns Hopkins University · USLaboratoire National de Santé Publique du Congo · CGMarien Ngouabi University · CGMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology · DEUniversity of Notre Dame · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sleep studies in small-scale subsistence societies have broadened our understanding of cross-cultural sleep patterns, revealing the flexibility of human sleep. We examined sleep biology among BaYaka foragers from the Republic of Congo who move between environmentally similar but socio-ecologically distinct locations to access seasonal resources. We analyzed the sleep-wake patterns of 51 individuals as they resided in a village location (n = 39) and a forest camp (n = 23) (362 nights total). Overall, BaYaka exhibited high sleep fragmentation (50.5) and short total sleep time (5.94 h), suggestive of segmented sleep patterns. Sleep duration did not differ between locations, although poorer sleep quality was exhibited in the village. Linear mixed effect models demonstrated that women's sleep differed significantly from men's in the forest, with longer total sleep time (β ± SE =  - 0.22 ± 0.09, confidence interval (CI) = [- 0.4, - 0.03]), and higher sleep quality (efficiency; β ± SE =  - 0.24 ± 0.09, CI = [- 0.42, - 0.05]). These findings may be due to gender-specific social and economic activities. Circadian rhythms were consistent between locations, with women exhibiting stronger circadian stability. We highlight the importance of considering intra-cultural variation in sleep-wake patterns when taking sleep research into the field.

Indexed as

SleepAdolescentAdultAgedCongoFemaleForestsHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeasonsSex CharacteristicsSex FactorsSleep DeprivationSocioeconomic FactorsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID34211008
PMCPMC8249621
OpenAlexW3174995429

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.