Menstrual CVS Study

What we are studying

We want to learn more about how you respond to sleep loss, including how you feel and perform on tests when your sleep and wake timing is controlled in a laboratory, during different times in your menstrual cycle.

Why it is important

Women are more vulnerable to the negative effects of sleep loss during certain times in their menstrual cycle. This vulnerability might be caused by the way that female hormones effect body temperature, but this has not been tested under realistic patterns of chronic sleep loss that are often experienced in the real world. Our study will aim to fill this important gap in knowledge and inform future interventions to reduce the impact of sleep loss in women.

Who can participate

We are looking for healthy women between the ages of 18 and 35 to participate in our study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged between 18-30 years
• Healthy (no medical, psychiatric, or sleep disorders);
• Able to maintain an 8-hour consistent sleep schedule during the study
• Able to refrain from caffeine, alcohol, medication, and supplements during the study

Who cannot participate

Women are not eligble for this study if they are using any form of hormonal contraceptive or hormonal therapy, including

• Oral contraception, e.g., combined or progestin only ‘mini pill’
• Hormonal IUD, e.g., Mirena, Skyla
• Contraceptive implant, e.g., Nexplanon
• Contraceptive injection, e.g., Depo-Provera
• Contraceptive ring, e.g., NuvaRing
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Hormonal fertility treatment

Not exclusionary: Non-hormonal copper IUD, e.g., ParaGard