ArticleSleep2026
Facility-measured sleep electroencephalographic microstructures in long COVID.
Article in Sleep, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
Patterns of Sleep Restriction and Recovery: the Inflammatory Resolution Pathways
Pain in PASC - the Role of Sleep Disturbances
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11 authors.
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Abstract
STUDY
objectivesSleep electroencephalographic (EEG) microstructures are related to brain functions, providing a window into the unrefreshing, non-restorative sleep and daytime fatigue symptoms in long COVID (LC) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We aim to characterize sleep EEG microstructural differences in individuals with LC and age-sex-matched healthy controls (HC), and also ME/CFS, using overnight in-lab facility-measured polysomnography (PSG).
methods28 LC and 28 HC participants came from a single-center research study. 19 ME/CFS participants came from a single clinical center. Sleep EEG was processed to extract spectral band powers, spindles, slow oscillations (SO, 0.5-1 Hz), spindle-SO coupling, brain age index (BAI), alpha-delta patterns, and infraslow oscillation relative band power (ISO, 0.005-0.03 Hz).
resultsCompared to HC, LC had higher SO power during wake before sleep and REM sleep. In N2 and N3, LC showed a faster within-spindle frequency drop (chirp) and shorter SO peak duration in the frontal region. LC showed widespread, early spindle-SO coupling phase at SO trough for both fast and slow spindles, with early fast spindle-SO coupling associated with worse sleep quality. ME/CFS shared some differences with LC but had higher SO-uncoupled slow spindle densities in frontal and central regions, more alpha-delta patterns in the first half of the night, and widespread elevated ISO power in the slow sigma band (11-13 Hz).
conclusionsThese findings suggest that LC and ME/CFS are associated with plausibly pathological sleep EEG microstructure changes, illuminating the pathobiology of post-infectious processes on brain activity. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION: Trial 1: Sleep and Inflammatory Resolution Pathway, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03377543, NCT03377543.Trial 2: Pain in Long COVID-19: the Role of Sleep, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05606211, NCT05606211. Statement of Significance People with long COVID (LC) frequently experience sleep disturbances, non-restorative sleep, and fatigue. Sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) microstructures may offer objective markers of subjective sleep quality in LC. Here, we present an in-lab facility-measured sleep study. LC participants exhibited abnormally early spindle-slow oscillation (SO) coupling phase at the trough of the SO, and a faster drop in within-spindle frequency. The abnormally early spindle-SO coupling phase in LC was correlated with worse subjective sleep quality. Similar differences in EEG microstructural patterns were found in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome as well. The results demonstrate candidate electrophysiological abnormalities associated with the fatigue and non-restorative sleep experienced in LC.
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