Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2025

Quantifying Infra-slow Dynamics of Spectral Power and Heart Rate in Sleeping Mice
Published on: August 2, 2017
Energy expenditure and slow-wave sleep in runners: Focusing on reproductive function, chronic training, and sex
Akiko Uchizawa1,2, Haruka Osumi3, Simeng Zhang4
1Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Abstract:
This comparative study focused on chronic exercise training, menstrual cycle, menstruation, and sex related with slow-wave sleep and energy expenditure (EE) during sleep in runners and controls. Participants included 26 highly trained runners (9 males, 8 amenorrheic females, and 9 menstruating females) and 20 controls (10 males and 10 menstruating females) aged 21 ± 2 years. Sleeping metabolic rate and EE during slow-wave sleep were 2.7% and 3.9% higher in the luteal than the follicular phase for female runners. Significant interactions were found between the 8-h time course adjusted EE and menstruation, exercise training, and sex. Sleep stage durations did not differ between groups. Interestingly, amenorrheic runners did not suppress sleeping and overnight metabolic rates, suggesting that EE in sleep may not be a causative factor for amenorrhea in runners. This study highlights the complex relationship between chronic exercise, menstrual cycle, and sex on EE during sleep.
Related Concept Videos
Sleep-Wake Cycles
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:
Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be...
Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...
Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...

