ArticleSleep2025
Is it time to revisit the scoring of slow wave (N3) sleep?
Article in Sleep, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Slow Wave Activity During Nocturnal Sleep in Hypersomnolence Disorder.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Sleep EEG foundation models reveal within-stage microstructure that improves health screening beyond traditional stages.Research square · 2026Article
- Longitudinal cardiorespiratory wearable sleep staging in the home.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- The long-lasting impact of male-based research on female physiology-also true for slow wave sleep.Sleep · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The use of a fixed electroencephalogram (EEG) amplitude threshold of 75 µV for labeling slow waves is a subject of ongoing discussion given EEG amplitude is known to vary with age and sex. This paper investigates the impact of this amplitude threshold on age- and sex-related trends in visually annotated slow wave sleep (SWS). Automated methods for labeling SWS using data-driven thresholds and amplitude- or frequency-based inputs are developed. Age- and sex-related trends in SWS derived from visual annotation and automated labeling are then compared across a cohort of 2913 participants from the Sleep Heart Health Study. In the selected cohort, males exhibit an age-related decrease in visually annotated SWS, which is preserved when using automated labeling. In contrast, females exhibit a mild age-related increase in visually annotated and amplitude-labeled SWS, but an age-related decrease in frequency-labeled SWS. Furthermore, using frequency-labeled SWS results in a reduction in SWS in females to a level comparable to that of males. Overall, the consistency of age-related trends in SWS in males between visual annotation and automated labeling, as well as the lack of consistency in these trends in females, is striking. Given that the 75 µV amplitude threshold was established using data acquired primarily from young males, these results suggest that observed sex-based differences in visually annotated SWS may be artifactual rather than physiological, and a result of the 75 µV amplitude criterion. This sex-related disparity highlights the need for the American Association of Sleep Medicine guidelines for scoring SWS to be reviewed and updated to provide equivalent performance for males and females.
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.